Meet the Team

• 
  Bernice Raabis

  International DJ + Teacher

  

  Bernice Raabis

  International DJ + Teacher

  Bernice has been a dancer all her life—the driving force behind becoming a successful DJ. After thousands of hours learning the skill of sourcing tracks, crafting soundscapes and perfecting transitions, she stepped into her career as an internationally touring DJ at Ecstatic Dances in Amsterdam, Breda, Nelson, Big Sur, Bellingham, and Oakland as well as Kooetnay Spirit Fest, Dance Camp North West, Esalen Institute, Womaginarium, and Gathering of the Tribes, among others.

  Bernice is a graduate of the Tamalpa Institute of San Francisco, where she studied dance as a therapeutic tool. She is a certified Soul Motion facilitator and has held a Dance Church in her hometown of Nelson BC in Canada since 2010.

  Mixcloud

• 
  Donna Carroll

  Founder, Ecstatic Dance Leadership

  

  Donna Carroll

  Founder, Ecstatic Dance Leadership

  Dubbed “a leader and luminary in the in the global dance movement,” Donna utilizes her decade and a half of experience to lead people through innovative approaches to become thriving dance entrepreneurs through her international Ecstatic Dance Leadership programs. She is passionate about dance and has committed her life to empowering others to find freedom through freeform dance and movement.

  Donna is the creator and cofounder of Ecstatic Dance Oakland, the largest weekly conscious dance on the planet, bringing over 300 people together every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening in Oakland, California. Ecstatic Dance Oakland has been called, “a cross between a yoga class, a rave and a church service,” has been featured on NPR, in the Huffington Post, the SF Chronicle, the NY Times, Common Ground Magazine, and in a blockbuster movie starring the singer Pink.

  Website

• 
  eO

  Producer + Composer

  

  eO

  Producer + Composer

  Eric Oberthaler [eO] studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory (B.M.1993) and CalArts (M.F.A.1996). He has since expanded into production, sound design, mixing, mastering, music direction, teaching, live performance, interactive technologies and transformational ritual. His music is immersive and his style kaleidoscopic – playing in the spaces between cultures and melting walls between genres. He is passionate about supporting the empowerment of women, trans and non-binary people in music creation and technology.

  SoundCloud

• 
  ALIA

  Ecstatic DJ + Music Producer

  

  ALIA

  Ecstatic DJ + Music Producer

  ALIA is an internationally acclaimed Electronic Music Producer, DJ, Vocalist, and Producer of the Feminine Medicine™ Project based in the San Francisco area.

  Inspired by the global bass movement, her music is an evocative, lush journey into her own blend of bass-heavy electronic dance beats, melodic frequencies, gorgeous feminine voices, conscious lyrics, and sacred psychedelic sounds. Described as feminine and fierce, elegant and gritty, ethereal and primal, her music unfolds in a pulsing, hypnotic journey that moves both bodies and hearts.

  ALIA has performed at respected international festivals and conscious events including Wanderlust Festival, Envision Festival, Lucidity Festival, Enchanted Forest, and Beloved to name a few, where she has shared the bill with world-renowned artists such as Beats Antique, Bassnectar, Emancipator, Phutureprimitive, The Polish Ambassador, The Desert Dwellers, CloZee, Deya Dova, and many more.

  For 10 years ALIA has played at dance hubs around the world and for the last 9 years she has been a resident DJ for Ecstatic Dance Oakland. She tours regularly contributing her musical journeys to Ecstatic Dances around the US and in Europe.

  ALIA is the visionary behind Feminine Medicine™, a series of collaborative albums that brings more feminine voices to the dance floor. So far she has collaborated with over 30 artists for the albums and the stage shows and has released “Feminine Medicine Volume 1” and “Feminine Medicine Volume 1 Remixes”. Volume 2 is in production due for release in 2019.

  EDMTunes.com said, “ALIA is paving the way for women in the conscious electronic music world” and ALIA was named a “Woman Changing the Planet” by ORIGIN magazine.

  Website | SoundCloud | Facebook | Instagram

• 
  DJ Polyesta

  Ecstatic DJ + Ceremony Leader

  

  DJ Polyesta

  Ecstatic DJ + Ceremony Leader

  Esta Polyesta is one of the most prominent DJs in Global Beats and World Music and one of the most international Ecstatic Dance DJ and Ceremony Leaders from the Netherlands.

  She discovered the magic of music at an early age, but when she discovered the magic of dance, the desire of becoming a DJ was born. In 2005 she started organizing dance meditations and DJing. Esta—a dancer, a traveler and seeker—loves to combine ethnic and ritualistic music with electronic beats.

  Esta is very active in the world music scene. In 2012, with a group of Womex delegates, she founded the Global Club Music Network, the GCMN. This is a worldwide platform that promotes electronic roots and ethnic music inside the community of, traditionally, very conservative Womex visitors and organizers of world music events. Womex is the biggest World Music showcase festival and trade fair in Europe. Before GCMN, there was hardly any attention for electronic music and party culture. The GCMN pushed for more space and as a result the Womex now has a proper DJ summit to the showcase program.She is a resident DJ at Ecstatic Dance Utrecht. She is a coordinator, ceremony leader and DJ at the ship Odessa in Amsterdam and organizer of Ecstatic Dance Ruigoord. She is a contributing DJ at Yogi Tunes and has been teaching people how to DJ for over a decade.

  Together with music partner Mashti, Esta produced remixes and tracks that were released on different labels. One of the tracks: Oum – Lik (Mashti and Polyesta remix) was published at the prestigious George V label of Buddha Bar.

  DJ Polyesta has played at Lowlands, Shoeless Open Air, Amsterdam Dance Event, Magneet Festival, Mysteryland, All Is One, Amsterdam Roots Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Landjuweel Festival, Paradiso, Club Lite, Melkweg, Hotel Arena, Tropen Theater, Ruigoord, De Toren, Noorderlicht, Little Buddha, Nomads and many others.

  Soundcloud | Facebook

• 
  OSARA

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  

  OSARA

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  Honoring the spirit of place and the ever changing energy of the cosmos, OSARA (Steve Anderson) takes you on an expansive and ecstatic journey inspired by the wisdom of mother nature and the healing power of dance. OSARA weaves songs and sounds from an eclectic mix of artists from all over the world, creating a unique blend of music to dance and journey with.

  OSARA discovered conscious dance in 2014. With a background in underground dance music, African drumming and sacred sound, he produced and DJ’d his first conscious dance in 2017. Since then, he has DJ’d and facilitated at some of the most famous festivals and organizations in the UK, including Buddhafield Festival, Colourfest, Spirit Fest, Movement Medicine, Pollen Tribe, and more. With his first London show and a new Ecstatic Dance collaboration in Bristol (UK) taking place, he’s fast becoming a recognized talent in the conscious dance and Ecstatic Dance scenes.

  Soundcloud | Mixcloud | Facebook | Instagram

• 
  Raj Inder Dhillon

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  

  Raj Inder Dhillon

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  DJ Amritaji (Raj Inder Dhillon) has been spinning psychedelic worldbeat and bass music since 2007. Coming from her roots in psytrance, she has spent the last decade playing at electronic music events, festivals and Ecstatic Dances across the United States. Her unique style of weaving the traditional music of Eastern and indigenous cultures with electronic bass and dance music started with her love for sonic-induced states of trance after practicing traditional Sanskrit Kirtan. A lifelong musician, Amritaji is passionate about blending traditional and modern music, giving her audiences a distinct sonic experience of deep bass lines, Eastern melodies and uplifting grooves. Her passion is for creating sacred dance journeys to offer a sonic space for healing, free and authentic expression, and fun!

  She founded Ecstatic Dance Milwaukee and attended Ecstatic Dance Leadership Training in Oakland, CA in 2016. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, where she is a resident DJ and DJ trainer at Ecstatic Dance Salt Lake City.

  Website | Soundcloud

   

• 
  Robin Parrish

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  

  Robin Parrish

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  Robin Parrish is the co-founder and managing director of Ecstatic Dance Los Angeles, a thriving free-from dance community in southern California. He has been involved with event production, music and teaching for the past 20 years. Robin’s passion in life is creating experiences that evoke transformation, inspiration and insight in others in ways that bridge the mind-body connection and unleash the unique brilliance within. He does this through his work as a coach, DJ, musician, transformational event producer and training development consultant. Robin’s approach is one that pairs creative vision and heartfelt expression with diligent execution.

  Website | Soundcloud

• 
  Atticus Mooney

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  

  Atticus Mooney

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  Atticus is a movement artist and facilitator drawing inspiration from lifelong study of embodiment modalities including classical ballet, modern dance, yoga, Contact Improvisation, and many more. Her soul purpose is to empower individuals and communities through creative expression; reminding individuals of their innate creative intuition and autonomy. Atticus strives to build conscious connections through somatic experiencing, which she facilitates through dynamic DJ journeys, free form movement exploration, creativity workshops, yoga asana and sound bath meditations.

  Atticus has led 200-hour yoga teacher trainings in Central America, lived and studied with Mayan elders in Guatemala, completed Donna Carroll’s Ecstatic Dance Leadership Training (2017), embarked on the inaugural California Ecstatic Dance Bus Tour, performed and choreographed in countless dance pieces, and served as a dance and music incendiary in the Washington, DC community and beyond.

  Website

• 
  Sabino Soares

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  

  Sabino Soares

  Ecstatic DJ + Facilitator

  As the producer of Ecstatic Dance Faro and Ecstatic Dance Lagos, Sabino is in service to the dance through producing, DJing and leading ceremony in his home country of Portugal. Sabino is an Ecstatic Dance Leadership 2018 graduate.

  The founder of Bkind Mindfulness Program, Sabino strives to bring quality, truth and joy to his community, believing that everyone has the power to contribute to each other’s lives in an uplifting way. After an early career as the head of the sports department at the University of Algarve, Sabino turned to dance as a way to integrate positivity, creativity and passion into his teaching.

  Sabino’s many successes include: working as president of an NGO for at-risk teenagers, teacher and trainer of mindfulness for children, national champion of ballroom dancing, as well as publisher of the mindfulness book, “STOP, RESPIRA, DECIDE!”. Currently, Sabino is working as a professor of mindfulness in the public school systems in Portugal.

• 
  Joel Pelletier

  Photographer

  

  Joel Pelletier

  Photographer

  Joel Pelletier is a  graphic designer and photographer based in the Kootenays, British Columbia, Canada. Joel’s pursuit of digital images has taken him on adventures almost continuously for over a decade. The visual drama and artistry of his photographs are born of a keen eye for the many moods of people, nature, a lifelong passion for the wilderness and model photography. This passion shines throughout Joel’s work and has attracted a wide global audience.

  Website