GROUNDED IN FREEDOM

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Mestre Chorao‍

Workshop: Capoeira Angola

Mestre Chorão trained under Mestre Marrom in Salvador, Bahia, and now leads Quilombo do Acupe in Boston.

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Mestre Silvinho

Workshop: Beginner Capoeira Angola‍

Capoeira Angola mestre and educator who has taught in Seattle since 2004, using movement, music, and history as tools for education, healing, and empowerment. In this beginner-friendly workshop, participants will learn foundational movements, songs, and instruments of Capoeira Angola while exploring the history and resistance rooted in the art form.‍

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Gurvinder

Workshop: Bhangra

Performer, teacher, and president of Pratidhwani sharing Punjabi culture and heritage through the vibrant tradition of Bhangra. Rooted in the harvest celebrations of Punjab farmers, this energetic workshop explores the rhythms, movements, and storytelling of Bhangra through step-by-step instruction, choreography, and joyful community dance.

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Deise Costa

Workshop: Afro-Brazilian Dance

Brazilian dance artist and educator specializing in Afro-Brazilian traditions, including Samba and Orixá-based movement, with a focus on cultural preservation, storytelling, and community connection. This immersive workshop explores Samba Afro, Samba de Roda, and Orixá-inspired dances through rhythm, embodied movement, and ancestral traditions rooted in nature, resilience, and collective expression.

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Adri La Pollito

Workshop: Cumbia

Adri is a dancer and educator using cumbia as a tool for self-expression, cultural preservation, and community connection through wepa and sonidera traditions. In this beginner-friendly workshop, participants will learn foundational cumbia footwork, turns, and partnerwork — no previous dance experience necessary.

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Larisa (Lala) Jacobson

Workshop: Land Stewardship & Qi Gong

Land steward and educator drawing on nearly 30 years of farming and community-based land stewardship across Turtle Island, Ghana, Mexico, Haiti, and Guatemala. Through hands-on stewardship, panel discussions, and Qi Gong, Lala shares practices rooted in food sovereignty, healing, and deepening connections between land, culture, and community care. Grounded in breath, movement, sound, and awareness, this Qi Gong session explores our relationship to land, climate, and collective care through an accessible practice inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine, farming, and ancestral teachings.

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Delia Pinto-Santini

Workshop: Sourdough Bread

Originally from Venezuela, Delia combines her love of baking and fermentation through natural sourdough bread making inspired by family traditions and masa madre. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to activate and care for a sourdough starter, prepare dough, and bake communal loaves to share — with everyone taking home their own masa madre starter.

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Dr. Katrina Sanford

Workshop: Herbalism

Trauma-informed psychotherapist and herbalist whose work centers African-centered healing, spirituality, and community wellness. In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore herbs that support mental health through education, ritual drumming, medicine-making, and practical wellness skills, while creating remedies to take home.

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Thalay Tran

Workshop: Moon Jamz

Thalay is multidisciplinary artist and spoken word poet using music, freestyle, and improvisation to create communal healing and connection through spaces like Moon Jamz — a BIPOC-centered workshop focused on cyphers, music improvisation, artistic healing, and collaborative creative expression.

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Priya Marita Diaz

Workshop: Moon Jamz

Priya is Chicanx artist, healer, educator, and founder of Plaza Artista Studio whose work explores creativity, healing, and community connection through art and music. At Moon Jamz, participants gather in a BIPOC-centered space for freestyle, cyphers, music improvisation, artistic healing, and collaborative creative expression.