Where are you originally from and where do you currently live?

I grew up moving all across Southern California but call Murrieta, CA, home. After college, I moved to LA and started pursuing event planning. I now reside in Mar Vista. 

How did you start working at HABITAS Venice and what is your favorite part in creating the programming specifically for music and dance events for the HABITAS Community members?

A year ago, I stepped out on my own to start an event planning business and in the process, Habitas reached out. They needed extra hospitality and programming support in the Venice clubhouse, so right away, I jumped in. I wasn’t initially interested in music and dance events but being with Habitas, that soon changed. Over my time at Habitas, I developed a greater love and appreciation for people connecting and expressing themselves through the arts. My favorite part is seeing people enjoying music and art in their free and natural flow state!

Can you describe the experiences, specifically music and dance events, held at HABITAS Venice? How does this create community?

Music at Habitas varies from small intimate acoustic shows to 300 person concerts at secret locations. For the smaller shows also known as our Storytellers Unplugged, I’ve reached out to local Venice talent to bless us with their gifts and share their story of how they got into music . It’s a beautiful time to showcase amazing people! We also incorporate music into our family dinners every so often with amazing instrumentalists, contemporary dancers and singers. The larger events we host at Habitas are our concert series. The concert series usually highlight our founder Eduardo Castillo’s project called Mardeleva. The goal is to create an immersive musical experience with inspiring yet simple ambiance with a high fidelity four point speaker system.  We have guests in a 360 circle around Mardeleva giving the impression that Mardeleva is a fire. The concert goes between a combination of calm sounds and then high vibrational dance music – both equally immersive and soul grasping! This instantly bonds people together.

What has been the most memorable past HABITAS music and dance event?

The most memorable musical experience was our friendsgiving event in the Venice clubhouse. We had Pascale, our director of musical residency in Tulum come up from Tulum and put on an intimate show along with David Bergeaud.  Between Pascale’s mind blowing vocal range and David’s knowledge of every instrument imagine-able, the dynamic duo put on an unforgettable show. It’s hard to explain how dynamite this experience was! They had never played together nor did they practice prior but somehow, it was the perfect synergy. They simply played off of one another’s energy and made magic! It was absolutely heart filling and the most amazing performance I’ve ever experienced.

What do you think is the intention behind the HABITAS dance and music nights?

The intention behind our music and dance experiences is to connect people with guards down and open hearts. Hearts that are opened by music and movement.

Since the interview was conducted, Habitas decided to close their clubhouses in NYC and LA as of June 2019. They still remain a global community who believe in a life of inspiration and purpose and are still very active with musical events and retreats. For more information, visit ourhabitas.com