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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

#womencrushwednesday

 I'm thrilled to be working with these women on "Domino". 

The backstory: In November of 2021, Mikaela Krall approached me about choreographing a ballet-like dance to one of the songs on her upcoming album release. The dance would ultimately be a music-video. 

Reading Theater Project graciously accepted this piece in their 5-Minute Fringe and I'm thrilled to have the additional opportunities to learn from live performance for this work. 

This process is all new to me and its been an experience of growth, patience, and cooperation. I want to highlight the three women immediately involved in this piece:


Mikaela Krall is a songwriter, mix-engineer, music educator, and leader of the band Dipped. She writes, "at the age of 5, my dad taught me how to play the saxophone. Growing up learning clarinet, flute, guitar, and piano, I began to explore different genres and styles of music. I became invested in learning about recording technology and music composing... Along with my passion for composing, recording, and playing musical instruments, I made my regional musical theater debute as an actress during the Summer of 2019." Mikaela has recorded and produced an original album at the Visconti Studio in the UK and has worked on an MIDI Sprout Plant recording project with sound artist Civyiu Kkliu and Lebanon Valley College professor Dr. Robert Machado. Click here to hear Mikaela and Dipped's album Shadow.


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Cady R. Monasmith, BFA, MA, is a Certified Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator. Movement is a powerful way of speaking throughout bodies. Cady emphasizes change and choice through movement, awakening the conscious by letting the spirit dance in the flesh. Her use of interpretative movement helps individuals reflect their story of emotional pain, explore the past and bridge their experiences to their present self. Cady has helped her clients reconnect to their bodies by finding compassion, self-acceptance, and a sense of freedom and inner strength, as well as reintegrating physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual aspects into the client’s past experience with present meaning. Cady was given artistic guidance from Philadelphia artists, including Kun-Yang Lin, Jillian Harris, Ellie Goudie-Averill, and Laura Katz-Rizzo. Along with performing, Cady has presented nationally on the topic of mindfulness and dance as beneficial modalities for the older adult population, ranging from addiction disorders to physical rehabilitation. Cady has an M.A. in Clinical Counseling from Alvernia University. A Temple University alumna, Cady received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a secondary concentration in psychology. She is a Berks-County based therapist, integrating expressive arts with evidence-based therapeutic practice.


Genevieve O'Conner has danced ballet for fifteen years, and she will be graduating from DeSales University this May with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Theology. Over the years, she has danced a variety of roles, including a Spanish dancer and Marzipan dancer in Repertory Dance Theatre's Nutcracker and the titular role in Fredericksburg Ballet Center's Giselle. Genevieve is passionate about all things art and beauty and she is so honored and thrilled to be participating in Reading Theater Project's 5-Minute Fringe Festival! 




Tuesday, February 15, 2022

A full February

I've got a lot of excitement happening in the next few days. Will you join me? 

Tonight (Feb 15) at 6:30pm, I'm going behind the scenes with Reading Theater Project's 5 Minute Fringe Festival with The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange on BCTV.org. You can watch it on the local stations if you're in the Berks County area, or you can watch the livestream by clicking here and then clicking "Watch Now" and then "BCTV.org". Or, you can check it out at your convenience on The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange playlist on BCTV's YouTube page by clicking here. The G.R.A.D.E. is an outreach program by JCWK Dance Lab to bring awareness to dance opportunities for adults in Berks County. 

Feb 16 at 7pm, I'm leading a professional development workshop for the Pennsylvania Dance Education Organization. PaDEO is working hard to support educators and students of dance. Check them out - and their current movement to get a direct path to Dance Education Certification for K-12 teachers - by clicking here. 

Feb 20 at 1pm, Widener University is hosting the second workshop in a three-part series where I'm sharing my research and process. “We are StarDust" is free and open to the public. Please review Widener’s Covid policy before attending. Sign up here. 

Feb 24-27. Reading Theater Project's 5-Minute Fringe goes live! And I have a new piece in RTP's Fringe! I'm working with new friends and old on a ballet that will also evolve into a video. Click here for more details on tickets and event info for the Fringe!