COCRÉA FOUNDATIONS
TRAINING CAMPOUT
UPCOMING DATES & LOCATIONS
WHITE SALMON, WA
JUNE 6-8, 2025
Do you desire a greater sense of connection in your dances and in your life?
Do you want to feel more confident, present and grounded in your dance technique with others and with yourself?
Do you want tools for reliably accessing that connection in your dance and life that you can readily and easily share with others?
THE DANCE OF CONNECTION
Using techniques from social partner dance as our common language, the aim of this training is to anchor foundational aspects of partner dance into your body as muscle memory.
The idea is to use our minds for training and practice to get to a place where we think less, do less and be more.
This being serves an emergent quality of ‘lucid sensuousness’ that feeds the connection we’re after. It is vitalizing, nourishing and deeply renewing.
In a word: it is joy.
Approaching partner dance from both a Fusion and Mindfulness lens, the aspects we’ll focus on to develop this joyful embodied presence are:
- Rhythm & Musicality
- Frame Connection / Attunement
- Tone & Situational Awareness (Change)
- Momentum & Inertia
- Floor Craft
- Rotation & Spirals
- Style & Play
Believing in life as a dance, Cocréa is a continually evolving holistic movement modality intended to bring individuals into strong, empowered, expressive relationships with their bodies and their communities.
At its core Cocréa is a somatic methodology for recognizing patterns, embracing change and living our authentic Selves. The Cocréa ethos envisions this practice as service to cultivating nurturing community and harmony in all our relations.
We build resilience to change by offering new ideas, develop awareness and the confidence to say yes to invitations that serve liberation, or no to those that don’t, and hold a posture of curiosity and interest while diving into new experiences that guide us to grow.
In order to access these places of deeper somatic inquiry and live into them, Cocréa stikes a balance between discipline and lighthearted play that helps us embody technique without burning out.
When we work within our window of tolerance, we can focus our minds on what is unfolding relationally, collectively and energetically, while also remaining flexible to what needs refinement and deeper cultivation.
What others say about their Cocréa experience:
Before this retreat I was feeling disconnected from myself, my body and my dance.
I left not only having reconnected with myself and my dance but also having had the realization that this is what makes magic on the dance floor…to be embodied, connected with myself and have an open heart to connecting with others.
Before this retreat I did not feel comfortable partner dancing. I would get in my head and think too much and felt awkward. Thanks to the workshops and freestyle dancing at night, I reached a new level of comfort with partner dancing and found myself having a lot of fun experimenting with the techniques I learned during the day.
For the first time, new partners I danced with actually wanted to dance a second and even a third song with me! This is the most fun I have had partner dancing and I am grateful for the container that Cocrea and its facilitators and awesome DJ’s held.
The exploration of yin and yang within partner dance, especially through the lens of lead and follow was powerful for me. The way Wren guides you to slow down, listen with your body, and honor the subtleties of movement helped me feel less resistant to meeting my edges in connection with another.
I’m so grateful for the safe, contemplative container Wren held. The music, the intentional pacing, and the presence-based teaching style that truly honors the sacredness of embodiment. I recommend this retreat for everyone who’s curious!
This training is a foundational deep-dive into the core principles, practices and structures of Cocréa that prime us for generating reliably numinous experiences
on the dance floor without the help of substances.
aka: MAGIC.
(now a scientific term!)
TRAINING DETAILS
As Cocréa is deeply informed by Wren’s early synthesis of American vernacular Jazz dance, Salsa and European Ballroom with contemporary music and rhythms from Hip-Hop, global bass & electronic music genres, there is a rich diversity of technique this training aims to integrate into the dancing body.
Though these techniques will be the primary focus of this training, attention will also be given to style and aesthetics in solo dance, as well as somatics that support and aid relational intelligence.
In addition to the above foundational partner dance techniques, we will also cover:
- Understanding Attunement and How to Apply it within the Six Realms of Connection
- Practicing Good Consent and Why It’s Essential for Awesome Dances & Connection
- Processing Change: The Invitation Circle
- Exploration of Posture and its Effect on Our Dance
- Musicality and its Impact on Dance Connection
This training is a pre-requisite for anyone considering the Cocréa Facilitator Training.
You do not NEED to be pursuing the facilitator path to enroll.
It is intended for ANYONE who desires to utilize concepts and techniques from partner dance to increase their connection skills both on and off the dance floor.
This is an excellent training for anyone seeking a practice & discipline to improve their embodied connection skills.
You do not need to be an experienced partner dancer to get something out of this training,
however some movement experience is recommended.
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
- All of the above skills and experience
PLUS! - Acknowledgement of Completion of Cocréa Foundations
- Invitation to Enroll in the Cocréa Facilitator Training
These topics will be developed, explored and expanded for participants who desire to facilitate this work in the Cocréa Facilitator Training Level 1 (coming winter/spring 2026).
FORMAT
This 2.5-day training is designed for a more intensive schedule of classes and forums with less free time built in. Though we will be in a camping retreat setting, come prepared for a full engagement type of weekend.
Friday night will be a groundwork laying night with a dance.
There will be short breaks between sessions and a longer lunch break factored in each day.
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY:
3pm ARRIVAL
5pm Light Dinner
6pm – 9pm Opening Session and Dance: Container Setting, Consent, Coherence
SATURDAY:
Tea & Coffee
8:30-9:30 Mindful Movement
Breakfast
10:30am-1pm Rhythm & Groove, Connection & Attunement
Lunch
3-4:15pm Frame, Tone, Intro to Momentum Inertia & Flow
4:30-6pm Presence & Play, Intro to Rotation and Spirals, Musicality
Dinner
8:00-11 Dance Journey with Cacao
SUNDAY:
Tea & Coffee
8:30-9:30 Mindful Movement
Breakfast
10:30am-1pm Expanding on Momentum & Inertia, Body Shaping, Synthesis
Lunch
2-4pm Dance and Closing
ACCOMMODATIONS & FOOD FOR OUT-OF-TOWNERS
This is a RESIDENTIAL event. Catering is INCLUDED.
If you have questions about whether this is a good fit for your level of experience, schedule a call with Wren to check it out.
MEET YOUR FACILITATORS
Wren LaFeet
Lead Facilitator
Wren is an embodiment guide intent on learning how to be in right-relationship as a 21st century human so he can best serve life. A trained dancer, theater worker, mindfulness facilitator and former recovery counselor, Wren shares body-based practices synthesized from social partner dance, mindfulness, Taoism, the Gene Keys, waterways and relating with other humans that support interpersonal connection and positive change.
In 2013, Wren co-founded Cocréa with Antje Schaefer as a vehicle for transformation through exploring mindful, consent based partnered movement as a relational practice. Channeling what he has come to acknowledge as an intelligence that wants the highest possible outcome for humanity, he creates brave spaces for humans seeking a deeper sense of belonging to come home to themselves and the earth through the body.
Wren is a TEDx speaker, featured author in “ReInhabiting the Village”, certified Attunement Therapy practitioner and HeartMath certified trauma sensitive educator. He holds a BA in Drama and Dance and began dancing in 1998 at the height of the swing dance revival. He immediately began fusing dance styles, particularly swing, hip hop and contemporary movement. He began performing in front of audiences at the age of 6 and as a neurospicy (ADHD) human, thrives when channeling his boundless energy, curious mind and empathetic capacity into service to others.
Wren recently completed working with Embodied Recovery as a substance use disorder counselor in Los Gatos, CA. A devotee of the Gene Keys since 2013, he is currently training to become a Gene Keys Guide.
Heidi Light
Assistant Facilitator
Heidi Light is a playful alchemist of movement, bringing magic, delight, and whimsy to the dance floor. Known for her unique blend of structure and spontaneity, she invites dancers to explore the rich interplay between form and flow, where creativity and connection come alive.
With a background in Essence Work, Tao-Tantric Arts, Expressive Arts Therapy, Body-Mind Centering, and Sexological Bodywork, Heidi weaves over 13 years of experience as an Embodiment and Intimacy Coach into her teaching. Her classes are a luscious playground for authentic expression, deep intimacy, and authentic, heart-to-heart relating.
MUSIC VIBES
Oh yeah. And we’re gonna get way down.
Wren has been instigating dance parties since 2008 and developing his musical tastes since he was in the womb.
Check out the diversity of grooves and sounds he likes to bring to his Cocréa workshops and events.
Ready to Shift Your Paradigm?
Sliding Scale Pricing
We’re doing our best to strut the middle path as a service based business within a radically shifting financial system.
In our mission to host creative, community spaces for transformation through joy and connection, we want to meet you where you’re at by letting you choose an exchange rate that feels right for you within a range of options.
Pay what you can afford – what you think is honoring of the value on offer, and take a look at our NOTAFLOF option if you have greater need.
You can also use the NOTAFLOF ticket option to contribute more if that feels aligned for you.
Holding the intention of dancing the change we want to see in the world.
NOTAFLOF
We at Cocréa strongly believe a better way of living on earth is possible that doesn’t depend on enabling exploitative structures, wealth hoarding or exponential growth. With service at our core, we are truly doing our best to embody the ideal of “enough truly IS enough”.
For those who have limited financial resources, and/or those who have been most impacted by systemic oppression, if you feel drawn to this training but don’t have the funds, please reach out to connect so we can work to make it possible for you.
MORE 2025 DATES SOON!
Sign up for Wren’s newsletter to find out about upcoming workshops and trainings from him and the Cocréa family of facilitators.
