Hansel and Gretel opens this weekend

 

November is flying by. 

This weekend, Berks Opera opens Hansel & Gretel at The Miller Center for the Arts on the campus of Reading Area Community College. 

In an attempt to promote the show, stay active on the socials, and still keep my head above water with all of the projects going on (end of the semester and classes at Alvernia, student shows, JCWK Dance Lab shows and touring...) I created a few images with details of Hansel & Gretel. 

The background image is by Maya Burdick, who is also performing in the show. The text I grabbed from Berks Opera's website, and played with a few digital effects to share info. 

For more details, click here. 

Alvernia Theatre presents The Inspector General

I'm back in the theatre with Alvernia Theatre this fall. 

This semester, Alvernia Theatre is presenting "The Inspector General" - a comedic drama that ironically (or not) explores a bit of deception, trickery, group think, and mistaken identity. 

I've created three dances for "The Inspector General" and provided some physical coaching for character development, non-verbal communication, and performance. 

Alvernia Fine and Performing Arts Chair, Dr. Nathan Thomas, directed the play and provided incredible mentorship and guidance for the students. 

Here's a moment from the performance: 

I particularly enjoyed the challenge of playing with rhythm and limited space for this dance. Great work, performers! Thank you, Dr. Thomas! 

JCWK Dance Lab and Berks Opera

JCWK Dance Lab's collaborative adventures continue throughout November. 

I'm excited to be working with Berks Opera as part of their upcoming production of "Hansel & Gretel". 

Here's some behind the scenes footage of our process:

Moments caught from UNSEEN

The beginning of November had me and JCWK Dance Lab returning to Bethlehem, PA and The IceHouse. 

Working with Sarah Carlson/ DanceLink, Karen Fox/ Bella Deluxe Entertainment, Malcolm Shute/ Human Landscape Dance, and Mijka Smith is getting to be both a homecoming and creative collaboration. 

Additionally, I'm thrilled to get to know new audiences, new dancers, new tech folks, and to make new friends. Thank you for everyone who joined us over the weekend! 

Here's a quick video from the weekend - 

Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween from JCWK Dance Lab and our Dance for Wellness classes!

Continued Research, New Explorations

JCWK Dance Lab is touring to Bethlehem in November! 

We're sharing the stage with several other regional artists in "UNSEEN: Dances the Move into Dreams." 

We presented "Eroded" several weeks ago in Philadelphia and each performance experience allows me and the dance artists to deepen into the movement and the intention of the work. 

For this project, I'm looking at the metaphor of the body as earth. Grief breaks down aspects of our physical and mental bodies. Erosion weathers the surface of the earth. Both change the entity and the wearing away reveals other things that are hidden. 

I've also been playing with AI and social media tools to improve my own communication and marketing skills. Here are a few preview videos and images I created for this particular performance: 

All things Nutcracker on the GRADE

Fall means a lot of things - brilliantly colored leaves, temperature changes, Halloween, and the start of Nutcracker season. 

For October's episode of JCWK Dance Lab presents The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange on BCTV, I sat down with Nathan Bland and several dancers to talk all things The Nutcracker. 

Nathan Bland is the Artistic Director of Berks Ballet Theatre. We had so much to chat about, we could do another episode. Until we get to that, check out this quick promo about the Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange and watch the full episode!