Root to the Bone - May 2025 Online

ONLINE
May 16-18, 2025
Since 2017, the InterPlay BIPOC Community has been hosting bi-annual retreats. In 2021, we began hosting BIPOC Untensives online in the in-betweens. This year being a between year, we are excited to announce an online InterPlay BIPOC Untensive - Root to the Bone. We are excited to be in community and play together as siblings between May 16-18, 2025.
Root to the Bone will be a chance to re-connect, re-affirm & re-source our body spirits personally and collectively. As playmate natty has stated, “source and fill our cups from the various lineages of body wisdom that make up our collective cosmology. We are in a potent time for guidance from our diverse, powerful collective root systems.”
We now stand at the turning point of two eras, behind us is a past for which we can never re-turn.There’s no going back and no super s/hero coming to save the day. We truly are the ones we have been waiting for, as June Jordan invokes. It’s up to each of us to be present, receptive to meaningful signs and move with kindness, compassion, courage and forgiveness. The little things that we do now - from the inside-out within ourselves, our families and communities - are going to add up to the big sweeping positive social transformations we seek. What a wild and blessed time to be alive and emboldened!
Come root down to the bone and re-fresh, re-new, re-determine the re-evolution. This year’s Untensive is grounded in an ethos of “less is more” with focused online time in balance with offline invitations and explorations. We know that attuning to our ancestral, ancient and indigenous way of knowing asks for time to connect to earth, ether and elders. So with this in mind and heart, we will play online and offline, coming back together to share and harvest from our wider adventuring and sensing.
Registration
We would LOVE for you to join us and bring your genius for the sharing. This gathering is “come as you can” and pay what you can. Your participation is a gift. (Register with one of the Pay Now buttons below.)
Connect With Us
Your eager and excited hosting team includes Masankho Banda, Carolyn Renée, Sacil Armstrong, Jojo Gabuya & natty abdou. Please feel free to reach out to natalie.abdou@gmail.com or carolynrenee1@gmail.com with any questions, suggestions or requests!
Cost: $300 value - Pay what you can!
Registration/Information: natalie.abdou@gmail.com or carolynrenee1@gmail.com
Masankho is a multi - disciplinary Performing Artist, Certified InterPlay Leader, Educator and PeaceBuilder. He brings many unique perspectives to his work around the world. He learned the fine arts of storytelling and dance from his Malawian culture spending many long days and nights listening to stories and dancing to music that captivated his mind, shaped his being, nourished his soul and strengthened his spirit. Using performing arts Masankho motivates and inspires people of all ages to work together to bring about peace, social justice and cultural understanding. In 1997, he started UCanDanc—African Healing Arts to bring his passion for dance and storytelling to communities around the world. Masankho has been a Certified InterPlay Leader since 1999.
Masankho can also be reached at these phone numbers: +265 99 255 5338 or 88 113 8655 (available on Whatsapp / FaceTime)
Also: Skype : kamsisi
Facebook / Twitter: storytelling4u
For nearly thirty years, Sacil (Suh-SEEL) Armstrong has combined facts, self-care, respect, and embodied practices to guide people through tough discussions on topics like racism and oppression, so InterPlay was a natural fit. Her focus on mental/emotional wellness first helps clients get out of their heads and into their bodies so they can actively listen, accept facts they might otherwise avoid, and embrace personal change to support human rights.
Her roles in marketing for a regional science museum, public relations and adult programming for a library system, and leading a grassroots movement to reduce violent crime in a low-income, high crime “neighborhood” of 30,000 people prepared her for her current deep community and one-on-one engagements. As an award-winning facilitator, community program creator, Certified InterPlay Leader, and InterPlay’s Racial Equity and Transformation Director, she supports clients as they learn to connect with themselves, one another, and information in ways that reshape their thinking, beliefs, and behavior.
Sacil loves music, art, and laughter to set the mood for learning and transformation. She is a Certified Zentangle Teacher, and often combines abstract art as meditation with her social justice work.
Sacil is the founder of the Everyday Activism Habit, a membership community designed to heal with self-care, build confidence with knowledge, and stretch your comfort zone to stand against oppression. Learning and growing in community reminds us we’re not alone.
IG, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook: @TheRealSacil