MELT: Melt Into The STARS — An Embodied Relating & Consent Retreat

The connection doesn’t fail because people don’t care. It fails because bodies don’t feel safe, needs go unspoken, and assumptions move faster than truth.

Welcome to MELT: Melt Into The STARS, a 5-hour immersive retreat bringing conscious communication into the body through somatic practices, partner exploration, and movement.

Rooted in the renowned STARS Talk, this experience invites you to slow down, listen to your nervous system, and practice consent, clarity, and aliveness as lived experiences rather than just intellectual ideas.

This is not a lecture. This is not a performance. This is not about “doing it right.”

This day is about learning how to listen—to yourself, to others, and to the relational field between you.

STARS is a relational language for clarity, consent, and aliveness—especially in spaces where intimacy, touch, and desire are present.

• S — Safety (Needs): What helps your nervous system settle, open, and trust?
• T — Turn-Ons: What brings genuine aliveness, attraction, and resonance?
• A — Avoids: What are your limits, non-negotiables, and early “no” signals?
• R — Relationship Intentions: What are you actually available for—and how do you communicate that clearly?
• S — Sexual Health & STI Conversations: How do we share vulnerable information with honesty, care, and integrity?

This retreat brings the STARS framework off the page and into the nervous system. We will explore each element through somatic exercises and partner movement drawn from fusion dance principles.

• Safety as a Pleasure Practice: Track weight, proximity, pace, and breath. Learn how your body signals safety or shutdown, and practice co-regulation without obligation.
• Listening to the Body's "Yes": Identify what genuinely awakens ease and desire. Practice naming wants without apology or pressure.
• The Wisdom of the "No": Avoids are not walls; they are guidance. Practice delivering clear, grounded no’s without collapse or aggression, and receiving them without defense.
• Intentions in the Body: Partner dance becomes a living metaphor: Are you leading, following, co-creating, or simply sharing space for one song? Sense your actual availability in real time.
• Truth with Care (Sexual Health): Disclosure is not a confession; it is an act of integrity. Learn how to share vulnerable information, STI status, and boundaries without shame, urgency, or avoidance.

• Brief teachings woven with experiential practice
• Somatic exercises that build body literacy
• Partner and group explorations
• Guided reflection and real-time integration
• A trauma-informed, consent-centered, inclusive space.

You will not be asked to overshare. You will not be pressured to touch. Choice, pacing, and agency are central. Touch is always optional. No partner or prior experience with STARS is required.

• Dancers, movers, and relational explorers
• People navigating intimacy, dating, or community connection
• Those who want more clarity without rigidity
• Those who want pleasure with integrity—on and off the dance floor

• Date: Saturday, March 7th, 2026
• Time: 2PM-7PM (Includes a 45-minute lunch break)
• Location: Portland Dance Studio, Portland, OR
• Tickets: Sliding Scale ($30 – $80). Please pay what feels generous and aligned with your current capacity so we can keep this work accessible.

• Courtney Brame: Founder, Something Positive for Positive People (SPFPP)
• William O’Connor: Founder, Relational Ecosystems Project
• Emerald May: Founder, Rooted Pleasure
• Matthew Nelson: Founder, BraveSpace Embodiment
• Evelin Dacker, MD: Creator of The STARS Talk & Founder, Wild Woman Wellness Medicine

Space is limited to maintain an intimate container. Secure your spot today to step into a practice of grounded, honest, and real connection.

If you are interested in attending the full MELT event after the workshop, please visit here for details and submit the vetting form and purchase tickets through that link.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Portland Dance Studio, 232 Southeast Oak Street, Portland, United States

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