Evening of Duets

I've been hesitant to talk, privately and publicly, about my dreams and work for HomeFrontLines. 

I've been pushed and prodded by the Universe to get this project in motion and more information will be forthcoming. 

But for now...

I'm honored to be presenting part of the project at Philly's annual "An Evening of Duets" presented by Melissa Chisena. This particular program has a(n) unique line-up of artists from Philadelphia, NYC, and DC. (Grammar side note - an extensive Google search couldn't answer my inquiry of "does 'unique' need 'an' or 'a'?" to personal satisfaction... So, readers, you choose.)

Melissa has invited me to share "Unspoken". This is a new work featuring the artistry of Katherine Kiefer Stark and Melissa McCarten. With it, I'm still exploring what it means to be on the other side of the military and how families (more specifically women) negotiate persistence, courage, fear, isolation, and connection. 

Read more about the other companies in the Evening of Duets Press Release

Get your tickets here

And check out more information about the companies and the performance: Evening of Duets website

Reflections long time a'comin'... (or On Trust)

Hi Friends....!

Thanks for staying tuned...

It's been an exciting few weeks... and for whom hasn't it?

Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Best wishes for Kwanzaa! Happy Solstice...

Darker days allow for longer periods of reflection because we are not consumed by active periods of light.

Some of my darker days have been spent working, artistically.

Some of my darker days have been spent brooding, emotionally.

And now, I'm taking time to reflect, publically.

What has your December Journey entailed?

Backup...

In the beginning of November,  KYL/D traveled to Grand Valley State University in Michigan for a collaborative performance. We (Kun-Yang Lin and his dancers) have been working/ researching/ investigating this work since March, 2015. The journey was a collaboration between Kun-Yang Lin's creative process through KYL/D and the Grand Valley State University's New Music Ensemble's creative process through alumni composer Dan Rhode.

The Grand Valley State entourage was beyond what I could have expected! The University facilities were beautiful! The collaborators was super dedicated to the artistic process and we were welcomed as family. And the performance was comfortable and flawless, from a performers' perspective.

'Have you ever experienced unconditional trust?' a new friend asked, specifically referring to performance.

Trust in the work. Trust in the process. Trust in my body. Trust in fellow performers. Trust that everyone involved is going to do their absolute best to make the job happen. Trust in the creation of magic.

I never thought about trust as a crucial aspect of performance, in the way that she asked, but it is. Trusting that everything is going to go as it should and trusting that everyone will be able to recover if something goes wrong is as thrilling as the live performance itself. I've written before that dance and live performance is magic because it is the ultimate "in the moment" experience. There's no second shot and there's no "take two". Everyone involved, including the audience, has to be completely in the moment. There's trust in that.

Fast forward two weeks and KYL/D is performing "HOME/ S. 9th St." at FringeArts. I haven't written much about the HOME performance because I was so excited to be in the moment. The work is timely and is timeless. It's pushed me as a person and as an artist. Kun-Yang asked me to say things and become a character I didn't know and wasn't sure that I could know. But he trusted that I could do it, and he trusted the other dancers that we could bring his vision to light. His trust empowered me. He trusted that this story of trials, failure, questioning, doubt, fear, challenge, assimilation, humiliation, integration, individualization, building-rebuilding-and-rebuilding needed to be shared by us at this time. And, in bringing all of these elements and more into one performance, he/ we was/were trusting the audience to take that journey with us. And many of them did. Through HOME, I gained new insight into ideas of community building, national identity, and trust. I have so much more to continue to process from this experience, but I trust that HOME will have a long life, and I hope you have the opportunity to experience the work, yourself.

The earth continues to turn...

Happy Thanksgiving! I visited family in Texas. Again, lessons of trust revealed themselves. I rediscovered the deep comfort of family, even in times of external turmoil. Trust - as a virtue of unconditional love - was again demonstrated to me; this time, not on stage, but in acceptance in family.

(I realize I'm being a bit vague. Honestly, it's taking a lot to sit down and write. In this period of limited sun, I want to hibernate and burrow under the covers until the sun shines longer than the foggy darkness or turn on all of the lights and run around and never sleep. Neither side is winning, Every time in the past few weeks I opened up a page to write, I closed my computer. So, this post  is also an act of trust. Trust that there is purpose in continuing an imperfect process. Trust in the act of showing up. Trust in the practice.)

A few more days shortening into nights... Widener University has their Fall/ Winter Concert. My students have been working hard and we've molded the semester around the Booker T. Washington quote "There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up." This can be applied in a very real way to dance practice - in balance, in stretching, in strengthening, in weight sharing; but can also reflect how we chose to act as people. If you're reading my blog, you're familiar with my philosophy that our dancing lives and dancing bodies are no different from our every-day lives and bodies. We are interconnected. This semester, my students and the work we created particularly seemed to understand and trust this. Trust the strength they were building in technique classes. Trust the community they were building in class. Trust the challenges with which they were presented and their ability to rise to them. And trust that dance can be many different things all at the same time.

It might sound strange to "trust a work" but that surrender is an ultimate part of the creative process.  

My December Journey continues...

I began two new works of my own, with the trust of two very special dancers. This project - working title HomeFrontLines - has been stewing for about a year, but I've needed to trust myself in order to take the beginning steps. HomeFrontLines is a big project, at least in my mind, and one that I trust needs a voice. I am grateful to Melissa and Katherine with whom I have shared many ideas and elements of this journey over the past year. They've also pushed me to begin rehearsals. I finally trusted myself to do so. We've been in the studio dancing, thinking, talking, sharing, moving, and I've been doing a ton of my own research. I'm excited and terrified for the process. We'll be sharing some of the work at the annual Evening of Duets in February.

If you follow KYL/D on Facebook or Twitter, you'll be familiar with a practice called "Mindful Monday". I see it as a moment in the beginning of the week to check in with one's self through a quote that is not only reflective, but is also mindful, aware and intentional of the time at hand (socially, politically, locally, worldly...).

Here's the Mindful Monday for this week - the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016:

Photo by Bicking Photography of KYL/D's "HOME/ S. 9th St." 

Thanks for trusting me and taking the time to read my blog. Thanks for letting me trust you, as readers!

I aim to carry the wisdom of trust into the new year. What wisdom did you gain from 2015?

This I believe...

NPR had a series called "This I Believe..."

People would be interviewed and asked to share some of their foundational beliefs. I don't remember any one as particularly striking, but I do remember the intent of each and every individual interviewed.  They were so committed to what they were saying! These interviews were a manifesto of sorts; A call to action, both personal and social; Convictions that had been tested and shaken, but not destroyed. 

Beliefs are often tested in crisis - individual, physical, emotional, and/ or social. Early in October, a community college in Oregan was destroyed by a mass shooting. A few days later, a threat of violence was made to Philadelphia area colleges and universities. Both of these events rocked the foundational belief that education is a trusted, safe, right for each and every individual. Conceptually and ideally, this country was founded on individuality, positive social change, diversity, and the ability to create and think critically. 

In honor of NPR's tenacious dedication to reporting on not just objective facts, but to human stories, and in honor of the terror that rocked many beliefs and convictions last month, I'm putting down some of the beliefs that I hold true. 

I believe that claiming the identy of an artist is a political statement. I do not create art for commerse, but I do create art for consumption, digestion, integration, questioning and critical dialogue. As an artist, I realize that my work will not make me financially rich (and may in fact cause financial stress). As an artist, I believe that money is one of many forms of transmittable energy. The work I create also transmits energy through thought, emotional connection, creation of empathy, empowerment, and sensitivity. These energies are not tangiable, but are transmissable. I am rich in compassion, love, intelligence, and connection. I believe these energies are as strong as money; albeit, different forms of power and strength. 

I believe that we are not all created equal, but we deserve to be treated fairly. How boring our world would be if all of the trees stayed green year 'round instead of bursting into oranges and yellows and reds and browns! How boring our conversations would be if we all only thought like mathematicians! How competive our world would be if we all thought like entrepruanurs! Biologically, the world is diverse and therefore survives because of that diversity. Likewise, we as people need to accept our diversities and see them as strengths instead of weaknesses. Diversity of thought and physicality and abilitiy provide the opportunity to collaborate and to grow constructively. So often "group think" tells us different = bad, instead of looking at the possiblities to build up our communities. In that diversity, everyone has value and has the right to be treated fairly. 

I believe that our body is the way we experience the world. We see with our physical eyes, taste with the musle and nerves of our tongue, feel with our skin, smell through the capacity of our nose... I could go on, but I think you get my point. We understand how to behave and act in the world because of the experiences through our body (yes, even the mind has a physcial form). 

I believe that dance trains us to integrate the physical body, the mental body, and the emotional body. In developing a deeper relationship with our bodies, the dancer develops a stronger sense of self. The dancer has the ability to be more sensitive to another individual - physically, emotionally, and intellectually - because she has been trained to be sensitive to herself and to be also aware of the space in which she exists. 

I belive that when we have a deep relationship with ourselves, we are better able to have deep relationships with others.

I believe that dance - practice, training, and performance - is a form of non-violent, positive social change.  

To be continued, I'm sure... what is it that "This YOU believe"?

Creating Choreography; Cultivating Community

The DeSales University XTE (student-run honors Dance club) produces a monthly "Dancer Digest", specifically for the University's Dance Majors. I was unaware, and so was my colleague and DeSales Dance Faculty, Angela Sigley Grossman, that the students who participated in (in)visible veins: Rivers Merge planned and wrote an article about the experience.

In their words, I'm including the article below:

Rivers Merge: (in)visible veins
By Samantha Burns and Sarah Duffany

"During the weekend of September 25th and 26th, the Lehigh Valley was able to experience a performance of Jessica Warchal-King's piece titled (in)visible veins. This performance took place next to the river at Scott Park, which is located near Lafayette College, in Easton, PA. This piece used the music from Bach's Cello Suite No. 6, under the musical direction of David Cullen. There were over twenty dancers from the DeSales University Dance Department who performed in this piece, along with Warchal-King and Angela Sigley Grossman. The rehearsals for (in)visible veins ran for two hour sessions over three consecutive weeks at the Brission Dance Studio and concluded with a tech rehearsal in the actual performance space. This piece was divided up into six different sections and ran approximately for twenty-six minutes. Warchal-King's main focus was to create something to facilitate community building, while recognizing the importance of things both seen and unseen.

The site specific piece allowed not only the audience to feel one with nature, but also pushed the performance to open up their eyes and appreciate both the visible and invisible parts of their world. Gina Palumbo, a senior dance major, was touched by the tranquil scene, and was constantly reminded her of the message behind Warchal-King's artistic vision. "With the presence (of the) river, the traffic, the train, our audience members, and all of God's grandeur, remaining present during the performance was absolutely vital if I wanted to properly provide [Jessica's] art to the audience." Palumbo was also very grateful for the connection to the community found in the environment in which she performed: "If I can take what I learned in this piece out into the world, I can make a small, yet important, change in the world around me."

Similarly, Lisa Marie Levy, a sophomore dancer, immediately immersed herself in the natural world around her. "While I was performing, I was noticing nature and seeing the beauty in nature," Levy stated, "I gained a better understanding of beauty in everyday life." Levy also found solace in Warchal-King's intentions of creating a community: "We, as a community, need to recognize what we have and focus on the good rather than the bad."

(in)visible veins was created to help build community while recognizing the importance of things both seen and unseen. The movement in this piece focused on external and internal rotation, a constant awareness of being connected with the other dancers, and a sense of living in each moment as if the river was continuously flowing within the performers. The location for this work also set the theme of connectedness and community since this work was performed near the river which connects the Delaware and Lehigh rivers before moving onward toward Philadelphia."

This piece was re-posted with the permission of the editor, the authors, and DeSales Faculty. 

Dancing Horseshoe Crabs at Widener University

This is an amazing weekend of dance!

Today, my students at Widener University share their perspective on some similar research to that of (in)visible veins. 

(A giant THANK YOU to everyone who came out to that performance, Friday!!!!)

There are some very special elements to this performance:

1) Dean Dr. Francis Weaver, an amazing biologist at Widener, does research on horseshoe crabs. She shared the biological aspects of these nifty creatures with my dancers. My dancers were able to make metaphorical connections between the horseshoe crabs and their own lives - being tossed in the waves, molting, needing to grow and leave "barnacles" behind... who knew horseshoe crab development was so relevant to undergraduate life?

2) We're performing with the Chamber Music Program! Wow! Dancing to live music is so very special! Thank you, Dr. Parker for bringing us together!

3) Collaboration. Interdisciplinary research. Multiple modes of learning and processing. Developing leadership and team-building skills. Storytelling. Community building. Self-reflection. These skills were all engaged during this semester and are present in the performance. #whydancematters

Come see the performance! It's free and open to the public, but seating is limited! Show time is 3pm.

#whydancematters - Dance Skills = a deeper relationship with your Everyday Body

Your Dancing Body is your Monday Morning Body is your Math Class Body is your Thursday Dinner Body is your Saturday Night Body is your Business Body is your Ballet Body... You have one body and everything you do in that body is connected.

Kristine is a former student, friend, dancer, and Occupational Therapist in a pretty cool hospital in California. She sent me the following story, sharing how her experiences in her dancing body allowed her to re-pattern and heal her "everyday body".

(The italics are Kristine's words. The non-italic are mine.)

I've been experiencing back pain on and off your the last few years, and recently it has become bad enough to go to the doctor to go get a script for physical therapy.

(Insert me here saying - please don't ignore your body! But as dancers, we are used to tolerating a certain level of pain - soreness from a new rehearsal, fatigue from a long week of performances...)

Through various exercise (and completing me AT HOME as well), my back pain has gradually decreased, but something wasn't quite clicking. Since moving (to CA almost a year ago) I've been passively looking for ways to make new friends and telling myself I'm going to go to a Swing dance class. Last week, I finally just paid for the class and went. (The class I'm taking right now is the Charleston. I want to do the Lindy Hop next!)

I had to learn very isolated movements (feet, then hands, etc), before putting everything back together. I figured out the same was true for my back recovery. Before I could learn how to pick up a box again, I needed to learn how to properly hinge my hips, the squat, then finally reach for the box.

Taking the dance class finally helped it all click. First you learn the parts to a step, movement, or phrase, then you put it all together and create something that flows.

As in dance, so in life. As in life, so in dance.

This afternoon, my PT told me that I'm making great progress and next week I will be discharged. Dance wins again.

Thank you, Kristine!

Thank you, Franklin & Marshall

Lancaster, PA is popular for many reasons. The unique lifestyle of the Amish. The excellent food and crafts created by the Amish communities. In 2013, neighboring Litiz was voted America's Coolest Small Town by Budget Travel (admittedly, it is pretty cool). It's history. It's proximity to some of the country's largest cities. And it's dance...?

I was invited to be a guest artist and teach a master class for Franklin and Marshall's dance program. (They have a Dance Major, a Minor, and Dance Company and classes that are available to the entire college community). What an amazing experience! Thank you, F&M!

The bright, windowed studio with lofted ceilings took my breath away as I peered into the space before my first class. And it's good that the ceilings were so high because the students had so much energy! In the classes that I observed and the classes that I taught, I was inspired by the enthusiasm and the "dive in head first" approach to movement and movement ideas that these students embodied.

F&M has a powerhouse faculty, many of whom I know from previous worlds in my life, but it was really exhilarating to see so many talented movers and thinkers in the same space!

Sometimes, as an artist, I feel isolated because I spend a lot of time by myself, either traveling to classes, rehearsals, and performances, or planning classes and rehearsals, or reviewing choreography, or training on my own for the specific needs of my body. But, when I have the opportunity to see the creative community in action, like I did at F&M, I'm grateful that I'm not alone on this journey! I'm grateful for the many dancers who are continuing the process!

#whydancematters #danceon

Franklin & Marshall Dance

Thank you, @CSTempleU!

Thank you, Creative Spirit class and David O'Conner!

David, a brilliant director and educator in the Philly area, invited me to his class, The Creative Spirit at Temple University. The class, David explained to me, was currently exploring "Play" as part of the creative process and going to see the New Zealand dance company, Black Grace soon. "If you could tell someone the best way to see a dance performance - maybe someone who never saw one before, what would you tell them" he asked me.

It's more about the experience and what you, as an audience member bring to the performance.

"Like taking a trip..." David mused...

How do I talk about dance to people who might not have experienced it before?

David uses social media as a pedagogical tool in amazingly awesome ways! He asked his students to tweet their take-aways. Here's what they had to say:

"related when she said her "mom put her in tights when she was three and that was it" and that she "loves motion"...Saaaame"

"Jessica loves movement, and even when she leaves she always comes back to dance"

"I think it's amazing Jessica's whole life if now built around an activity her mom influenced her to do when she was 3 years old."

"Doing something physical such as dancing can change the experience"

"dance has a way to transform your emotions and bring joy"

"movement brings happiness... Definitely true"

"the story about the veteran was powerful; movement engages people"
(David asked about particularly striking moments when I realized that dance was something I needed to be doing. I told the students a story about pulling a veteran up to dance at the Festhaus when I was working at Busch Gardens and how he looked a little lost at first, but then erupted in a big smile. Dance creates connection, makes people happy, and can eliminate feelings of isolation.)

"I think it's very cool how in everyone I see they are reluctant to dance but once they start dancing it becomes fun for everyone"
(even though we were in a lecture hall, I made the students dance!)

"Engaging in physical activity, movement makes people happy"

"Joy could be a form of social justice"

"this thing dance makes people happy and builds a community"

"Dance is a form of joy and it brings everyone together"

"I never thought joy could be a form of social justice, I like the mindset Jessica formed around this statement"

"Art can bring joy"

"Joy is a form of social justice that can be created from dance"

"Art can bring joy. With dance people can feel happy and build community through the body movements."

"Owning your natural movements"

"Didn't know dance could be used as a form of therapy"

"Mind + body + spirit + community = release"

"it is fun when other people get you to dance, a smile does appear, even if you don't think about it"

"I can't wait to use dance and movement in my own work with Parkinson's patients!"

"Sometimes it takes a little weirdness to get others to participate and feel comfortable with dance"

"I get how dancing can completely transform your feelings"

"The ways that we place our bodies says alot about our relationship"

"body movement is really important when you are analyzing a person"

"Dance is inspired by every movement"

Thanks for the chance to share my dancing story with you, David and @CSTempleU! #whydancematters #danceon!

Upcoming Performances and Adventures - Welcome 2015!

2014 certainly was an exciting year in my little dancing world.

I'm grateful to have had opportunities
to deepen my artistry as a performer with Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet, and Freshblood.
to explore new ideas and creative challenges as a choreographer at Widener University and Alvernia University.
to expand my pedagogical practices as an educator at KYL/D's CHI Movement Arts Center, Muhlenberg College, Widener University, and Alvernia University.
to cultivate scholarship through the National Dance Education Organization.
to grow as a writer through DanceAdvantage.net.
to develop relationships and creative communication across disciplines with Paul Fejko (music), Brian Mengini (photography), and Nathan Thomas (theatre).

photo by Brian Mengini

Thank you for sharing the journey with me!

The performance calendar for 2015 is quickly filling up! Here's a smattering of what's in store:

January 2nd - KYL/D (Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers) is performing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's "Art After 5". It's FREE with Museum Admission. Check out more info here: KYLD at Art After 5

January 9th - KYL/D is performing at APAP in NYC. We'll be at City Center Studio 4. Check out more info and the schedule of other performances at APAP here: KYLD at APAP

January 30th-31st - KYL/D is performing at Temple University's Faculty Dance Concert at Conwell Dance Theater. More info here: KYLD at TU

February 6th - KYL/D's 24th(!) InHale Performance Series at CHI MAC. (So excited to be in our 6th year!)

February 11th - I'll be teaching a Master Class in Ballet at Franklin & Marshall College.

February 27th-28th - NGCB (Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet) premiers a new work for our annual home season concert at the Performance Garage in Philly. Get your tickets here: NCGB's home season

Whew! And that's just in the first two months of the year! Please join me!

and this... as a reminder for the New Year...

Happy 2015!

#whydancematters - community, collaboration, communication, and choreography

At the end of most processes, I ask my dancers to self-reflect.

What have you learned?
What has effected you?
What would you like to share with others about your experience?
What will you take with you, after this process has ended?

I'm including some of these thoughts from the past four months. (With their permission to post publicly).

#whydancematters