Goddess Dance & Feminine Leadership Retreat in Sousse, Tunisia

Dr. Kaouthar Darmoni grew up in Tunisia, took a PhD from the Sorbonne, and spent years as a professor of gender and media studies in Amsterdam and as a sexologist. She learned a North African dance tradition she calls Raqsat Al Ilahat from the women in her own family, and over 30 years of research and teaching turned it into Divine9 Dance. This retreat is where she teaches it in person, in the country she's from.

The programme moves through a sequence rather than repeating the same day. Day one is arrival and a sunset welcome circle. Days two and three are about waking the archetypes up and then looking outward — day three includes the guided walk and shopping in the bazaar. Day four is the heaviest: a session on trauma healing, followed by a spa treatment and hammam in the afternoon. Day five is about change, day six about empowerment, with thalassotherapy. Day seven closes with a gala dinner. Each day starts with dance and meditation at the sea and ends with a dance ritual and meditation at night.

What separates this from a standard yoga or wellness week is the content of the sessions. The Divine9 method works with nine feminine archetypes, and guests describe specific, practical instruction — how to stand, how to walk, how to hold a room. There are exercises for releasing tension in the shoulders and chest, visualisations on the beach, and group conversations where Kaouthar gives feedback on relationships and leadership. One guest, a clinical psychologist, said she took away a clearer sense of her own role within the Divine9 system.

The setting varies by departure. The Ocean retreats run at a five-star beachfront resort in Sousse, right on the Mediterranean. The Sahara Desert retreats run at an authentic riadh — a restored small Arab palace — inside the medieval medina of Sousse, a short walk from the water. Accommodation is in double or triple rooms, and guests can add extra spa treatments, extra nights, and à la carte drinks and snacks.

The page quotes women from the USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Spain and France. One came for her 60th birthday. Another attended with her daughter and granddaughter. Several say the same thing in different words: the sisterhood among the group was as much the point as the dance. A pharmacist from UCLA described the hammam as phenomenal and the cabasa practice as useful for pelvic floor strength.

It is a women-only, alcohol-free-in-spirit week with a lot of dancing and a fair amount of emotional work. If you want a quiet spa holiday, this isn't that. If you want to move, dance badly in a room full of women doing the same, and leave with a different relationship to your own body, this is built for exactly that.

What's included

- 8 days & 7 nights in an authentic Riad Hotel de Charme accommodation (double/triple room) - All workshops & circles - Daily meals - Spa treatments - Hammam and thalassotherapy sessions - Cultural excursions - Airport transfers

What's not included

- Flights to and from Tunisia - Travel insurance - Additional spa treatments - Extra nights of accommodation - À la carte drinks and snacks - Personal expenses