Daniel Ari (co-organizer): I belong to this community because I have a deep and abiding love for music and movement, and I share these passions with my family. To this community, I can offer writing and editing services based on more than 10 years experience as a marketing copywriter; more than 20 as a creative wordsmith; and clients as diverse as eBay, SkyMall, Sears, Burning Man, and many local artists and musicians.

Kristi Coombs (co-organizer): Dance has been part of my life since I was a little kid. Whether I was spinning around the living room to "Zorba the Greek," going to ballet lessons, or studying the dance styles of "The Lawrence Welk Show" (yes, really!), I just loved to dance. And all these years (and ever so many dance styles) later, dancing continues to bring me joy. When I'm not dancing I write, blog, edit, do lots of exploring, and provide support to small business owners. Currently, I'm in a training program to become a Certified Professional Coach.

Zach Pine (co-organizer): I started dancing and deejaying long ago: one of my early DJ gigs was using a single turntable in a living room converted to a dance floor by rolling up rugs; one of the dancers put his soda can down on the spinning LP. In my work as an environmental artist, I use natural materials such as rocks, sticks, and leaves to create temporary outdoor sculpture. I also lead environmental art-making events and educational workshops for adults and children, do trainings, and help others to make spaces for creating with nature. Visit naturesculpture.com for more info.

Christina Tuccillo: Christina has been deejaying for freestyle boogies since the mid-'80s, starting at the original Barefoot Boogie in New York, then in Boston and on to the Bay Area in the early '90s. Although she deejays in other venues, she particularly loves the barefoot, freestyle boogie environment and the freedom and creativity it allows and encourages. As a dancer and a deejay she loves all kinds of rhythms, tempos and moods and is fascinated by the different effects that music has on people. Expect new and old, heart and soul, staccato and flow, fast and slow, with playful surprises thrown in to keep you on your toes!

Megan Joseph: I grew up on the East coast and have recently relocated to the Bay Area to attend JFK University. I am pursuing a Masters in Consciousness and Transformative studies. I am thoroughly enjoying the openness of the people here, the beautiful surroundings, and my first winter without snow. I trained in Shake Your Soul and other expressive movement techniques after I fell in love with the freedom and joy I felt as a participant. I love sharing this passion with others in my movement classes. I look forward to dancing with you!!! ~Megan.

Patrick Numair: I love music, nature and moving my body. A professional DJ of nine years, an avid musician and organic chef, I love to see people gathering together around food and music and sharing in the joy, passion, pain, and healing of life. I truly believe following our dreams creates a better world for all, and in reverse, denying our truth is the cause of our suffering. I run a sustainable, eco-friendly cafe in San Francisco at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Leah Joy: Hello everyone. I am an aspiring singer/songwriter. Dancing helps to release the creativity within me, especially when I feel blocked or under pressure. I love to see the transformation in people when they discover their own self-expression through dance, music or art. I believe people need more laughter and joy in their lives; in my hard times I look for laughter to fill me up. Please see my myspace page to hear my music or to contact me.

Sakanta Running Wolf: Sakanta Running Wolf Bell-Gumaer MS Metis. Founder, Director, Global Peace Global Healing, Dance Move Dance. DJ Poz (Positive Conscious). Dance Move Dance Events for Celebration, Healing, Transformation, Inspiration. Music that moves body, heart, spirit. Austin workshop for 30, 5 so moved, they cried. I promote for Band AfroReggae, Film Favela Rising. Healer, Dancer, Photographer, Writer, City Planner, Counselor, Teacher. Worked in: Juvenile Hall, Psych Hospitals Inpatient Addictions, SED Homes, Public/ Private Schools. USA, Brazil, Mexico, Peru. Powered by the highest truth, light, love, wisdom, humor, unconditional love, forgiveness, compassion, service. Websites: MySpace.com , flickr.com , zaadz.com , entertainment.webshots.com.

Harmony Gates: My touchstone is connection. From a space of being solidly connected with my inner, physical, and emotional\expressive self, I delight in inviting deep connection with others so that we can share the satisfaction, joy and aliveness it generates. My favorite avenues for exploring connection are dancing and teaching. I call my business BodyRide and use an integrative combination of interactive bodywork, connection coaching and somatic dance therapy to call people home to their true selves, alive in the present moment. Through individual and couples sessions, group classes, workshops, and events, I help people reclaim their bodies, access their inner wisdom, and recover their innate vitality, so they can engage life with power, passion and purpose. Take the ride and Come Alive! BodyRide. Let your body be your guide. Visit www.bodyride.net.

Allen D. Kanner, Ph.D.: I'm the father of Cassidy, a three year old red-headed imp you may have met cavorting around the dance floor at Ashkenaz. I've also co-founded a national advocacy group, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), which is fighting the marketing onslaught aimed at children that has exploded since the 1980's. In this work, and as a child and family psychologist for over 25 years, I have discovered that most families are coping with advertising on their own. With clients, in talks, and in my writing I address how we can join together to reclaim childhood from the marketers.