Featured Teachers 2024
Marta Fraser has been dancing all her life! She grew up in Mexico and dance was part of the culture and her upbringing. She studied different modes of dance but the subtle and deep connection with Spirit, self, and others that Circle Dance offers is the main reason she loves this kind of dance.
Marta lives in Victoria B.C., Canada, where she encountered CD over 30 yrs ago. She has traveled far and wide to learn and dance with many well known CD teachers over the last 25 years. She has been facilitating in Victoria for close to 20 yrs. She also established a CD Circle in the Baja, Mexico ~ 2010, training the facilitators.
Her teaching style is clear, focused and detailed. The integration of body, mind and spirit that she finds in CD feeds her soul, is her joy, meditation and spiritual practice.
Marta lives in Victoria B.C., Canada, where she encountered CD over 30 yrs ago. She has traveled far and wide to learn and dance with many well known CD teachers over the last 25 years. She has been facilitating in Victoria for close to 20 yrs. She also established a CD Circle in the Baja, Mexico ~ 2010, training the facilitators.
Her teaching style is clear, focused and detailed. The integration of body, mind and spirit that she finds in CD feeds her soul, is her joy, meditation and spiritual practice.
With combined teaching of nearly 60 years, Cindy Kelly and Adrian Pointon are well known and well loved dance teachers. Renowned for their enthusiasm and energy, they bring a sense of joy to the dance. They combine clear teaching styles with a sense of humour and have the ability to create a more reflective atmosphere in which they enable groups to explore the spiritual aspects of the dance. Teaching internationally in Morocco, Croatia, USA, Australia and New Zealand, as well as closer to home in England, Wales and Scotland, their dance choices, both traditional and choreographed, particularly their own choreographies to contemporary Celtic music, are very popular. Cindy’s dance ‘Calum’s Road’ and Adrian’s dance ‘Celtic Spirit’ are firm favourites with dancers around the world.
Maureen Atkins, aka "Mo" joined the Bay Area Circle Dancers in 1993 and has been teaching Sacred Circle Dance since 1995. She has been a regular BACD teacher since 2000. In 2008 she started a group in San Leandro and in 2022 she started another group in Ben Lomond. In the past she has organized and led weekend dance retreats, participated in special occasions like church services, weddings, grief groups and has co-facilitated at the Far Horizons Dance Camp/Retreats. In 2022 and 2023 she led workshops on reclaiming personal power through Circle Dance based on her thesis. In June 2023 she was invited to a trauma release workshop hosted by Stefan Freedman where she presented her ideas about reclaiming personal power. “I teach a variety of things…everything from meditative dances to lively ones. I believe that it is important to make newcomers feel welcomed. One thing that drew me to Sacred Circle Dance was the idea that we celebrate all things that make us human. I love being able to put together dances for an evening and at the same time will change what I will teach based on what is going on in the moment.” Over the years she has choreographed a number of dances and is always on the look out for interesting music to dance to. Maureen lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Ben Lomond. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has a masters degree in counseling psychology with a specialization in somatic psychology. She works as a therapist for a local agency in Santa Cruz.
Darlene Rainbow’s journey from a non-dancer to a dedicated Circle Dance teacher began with a single email describing a winter candlelight Circle Dance in 2006. Conquering shyness, Darlene has shared her dance passion by teaching in Vancouver, Canada since 2009. Her dancing has been inspired by June Watts and Laura Shannon along with many other Canadian and international dance teachers. Darlene fosters community spirit in the Circle Dance community by hosting and organizing special dance events, retreats and guest teacher workshops. Beyond dance, she enjoys family time, volunteering, creative cooking, exploring art projects, playing with clay, traveling and being active in the outdoors.
Our Founders: Marina & John Bear. They may be with us in person if health allows. Either way we will have a Bears Dance session celebrating John’s favorites and Marina’s amazing, enduring choreography.
Marina and John Bear first circle danced in Glastonbury, England in 1984. and established the first circle dance group in California in 1985.
Marina and John Bear first circle danced in Glastonbury, England in 1984. and established the first circle dance group in California in 1985.
