Peeks into the Process

Olive Prince is creating a work on KYL/D for the November 7-9 Fall Season at the Painted Bride. Here are some shots from rehearsal.
Check out more about Olive here - Olive Prince Dance
And get your tickets for the performance here - KYL/D at the Painted Bride

Olive and Noah

Liu Mo and Vuthy Ou

Liu Mo, Brandi Ou, JCWK, Brain Cordova

JCWK

Evalina Carbonell, Brandi Ou, JCWK

Liu Mo and Vuthy Ou

Brandi Ou, Rachael Hart, JCWK

KYL/D's 20th (!!) InHale Performance Series

KYL/D is celebrating our 5th year in Philly and tomorrow is the company's 20th InHale Performance Series! (Whew... we've been at this for a long time...) I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to curate this series. To date, KYL/D has presented over 400 artists to over 600 audience members from more than 8 states (PA, NY, NJ, VA, CT, WI, IL, NC, MD...)!

Here are some of the artists:

Click here for TICKETS

See you at the show!

"You say it best when you say nothing at all..."

In many of my classes, I talk about body posture - the way that our bodies take up space and what a particular body shape communicates about us to other people. Posture is so important to dance, but dance is more than just art - it's non-verbal communication. And this is where everyone can benefit from having a little bit of dance insight and training. Our bodies tell our stories and reveal who we are. My students and young dancers are always surprised when I pull one of them aside and ask, "Are you okay? What's going on?" "Huh? How'd you know?" is usually the response. I tell my dancers (and non-dancers) that the way they sit, walk, stand, hold their arms, their neck and shoulders, "speaks" volumes.

Amy Cuddy also shares this insight on Ted Talks. Check her out:
Amy Cuddy



"Our bodies change our minds, and our minds can change our behavior, and our behavior can change our outcomes..." ~Amy Cuddy


I (also) encourage you to stand, or dance, and see how that changes you. What did you find? Report back!

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(I'm sharing this link because I can't get this song out of my head... Perhaps you can dance to this as well!)

More reflections...

When we revisit repertory, Kun-Yang will provide us with some insight into the original process. Kun-Yang often says that he understands the world through dance and processes what's happening in his life through dance.

I am so appreciative of this gift of dance, to bring people together, to communicate, and to understand ourselves. I received this message from one of my dancers, during the week of the performance: "Jess, I hope I'm not overstepping, or over thinking too much (which I do), but I think this piece is really about you and what you're trying to figure out. And that's one of the reasons why you're not dancing in it. You've put several people that you love and admire on stage together and you're trying to figure out which pieces of them you want to take for yourself. You're working through something and I don't know what it is, but it feels really honest and real. Thank you for letting me be a part of this process." 

I'm still searching for the answers... but the performance was beautiful! 

photos by Bill Hebert. Lighting by Nanette Hudson Joyce

Evalina Carbonell and Brandi Ou

Cassandra Cotta and KC Chun-Manning

Rachael Hart and Rhonda Moore

KYL/D at the Painted Bride in November

KYL/D’s Philadelphia 5th Anniversary at the Bride from Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers on Vimeo.

KYL/D's performances usually sell out in advance, so get your tickets early!

Dance for PD - a video and new classes

I received this video in a newsletter from the Dance for PD gang and I needed to share it:

I'm leading Dance for PD classes at CHI MAC this fall - every Saturday morning from 10:30am-11:30am. Yep, it's early, but we've received some requests for the time. So, let's dance! Check out Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers for more info on what's going on with KYL/D and at CHI MAC: Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers

And... if that's not enough, check out the official Dance for PD website: Dance for Parkinsons

Serendipity

Embedded Layers was a beautiful experience! Thank you to Nanette Joyce, Boyer College, and the Temple University Department of Dance for the opportunity to share my work!

Pictures and more reflections to come soon. I woke up this morning to this post on a friend's Facebook page. It seemed an appropriate way to begin the day-after-performance-process-and-recovery.

Embedded Layers. Photo by Bill H. pictured from left to right:
Evalina Carbonell, Rhonda Moore, Rachael Hart, Cassandra Cotta,
Brandi Ou, KC Chun-Manning. 

Reflections

We're in tech week. I always learn more about a piece during performance. And so, in the spirit of abstract art, a haiku:

Art reveals the self.

Live performance uncovers

Preserved containers

From the NASA project Earth as Art.
This is Desolation Canyon in Utah. I think it looks like a human spine.


On another note, I tried to include the link to NASA's Earth as Art project but received this message:
"Due to the lapse in Federal Funding this website is not available. We sincerely regret this inconvenience."

Oh dear... I shake my head and feel a hole grow in my chest as I think about all of the people who could not go to work today, their families; the families of our active and retired military and the anxiety they're facing right now...It's challenging to find beauty and hope in the face of despair, but my calling is to be an artist. A mentor who counseled me during a personal time of challenge provided me with some strong direction:
"Do your work. Do your work well and do your work diligently.
In committing to the work (you're doing as an artist), you are creating an impact and you are creating change."