Make Some Noise

Today's National Tap Dance Day. 

But I don't feel like celebrating. 

Yesterday, the U.S. witnessed another elementary school shooting. 

Another. 

It feels more appropriate to scream, shout, make some noise. 

So maybe Tap Dancing. 

Metal on wood. 

...

Dancing won't stop bullets, but it does bring us together to create joy and build connections. Dance is wellness - mental and physical (May is mental health awareness month). Dancing shares out stories and develops empathy. 

We could all afford to dance a bit more these days. 

There are many ways to make noise. 

There are many was to be seen and heard. 

April Showers bring May Merch!

Happy May!

How are you? What is springing up in your world? 

Happy Small Business Week! I'm proud to be an artist/ entrepreneur. In this role, if you've been following along, I'm building a dancing world with Joy, Connection, and Wellness at the forefront of Kinesthetic storytelling to inspire non-violent, positive social change. 

The past two years have been rich with research, development, and relationship building. The that end, I've created The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange on BCTV.org to bring awareness of dance for adults in Berks County, worked with several organizations on non-violence programming, and collaborated on several projects with local artists and performing arts organizations. I've also written and received several grants and am working with several local small business incubators. 

In the interest of sustainability, both from a business and environmental perspective, I've been looking into ways to create revenue to support JCWK Dance Lab's community engagement and professional performances. 

I've sprung up a store on Bonfire. The We Are StarDust line is an original creation that reflects my creative research over the past two years. I'll be continuing with this research in the coming months with another performance project and workshops that investigate the relationships between earthly bodies and celestial bodies. 

Would you help to support JCWK Dance Lab and join in the movement to create positive social change through We Are StarDust?

I've chosen Bonfire because they "source products from a group of vendors who are WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) certified and 100 percent 'sweat free'." I'm sure I'll learn a lot from this initial launch. More designs and adventures coming soon! 

Click here to start shopping! 

#berks4peace in the news

 April 30th was a special day. 

I've written about my involvement with the Berks Youth Violence Prevention Committee. (My small role included creating a dance for a Random Act of Culture that was used for both the YWCA and the BYCPC; attending committee meetings for the past few months; teaching the dance at several pop ups, including in front of City Hall with the Mayor of Reading.)

The months of planning culminated in a walk and a ceremony. Quite a few news organizations documented the event. Click the links below to see the articles. 

In the Reading Eagle 

In Berks Weekly

On WFMZ

Thank you, Berks4Peace for allowing me to share joy, create connections, and build mental and physical wellness through dance!