(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge - FAQ's and what you need to know if you're attending

A few things you might want to know if you're coming:

1. What's going on? 

2 nights, 2 sites, 4 performances. Friday & Saturday/ September 25th & 26th. 6pm at Easton's Scott Park (Riverside) (in)visible veins: Rivers Merge choreography by me. 8pm at the Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College - "Diverse performances, choreography by Lehigh Valley-based choreographers" to "Celebrate the rising level of dance in the Lehigh Valley and the 40th anniversary of the LVAIC Dance Consortium". 

2. How do I get there? Where do I park? What can I do if I come early?

Check out directions: here

There is on street parking at the Riverside Park in Easton, or you can park at the Williams Center. Choreographers on Campus has arranged for a bus to transport audience members from the Williams Center to Scott Park and back. 

Easton is a very lively town! Check out this link for things to do in Easton and the surrounding areas: Discover the Lehigh Valley

3. What time does the show start?

(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge starts at 6pm at Scott Park. The staged performance is at 8pm at the Williams Center for the Arts. 

4. Is there assigned seating? 

(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge is an outdoor performance and there is no assigned seating. If you have difficulty standing for more than 30 minutes, please bring a blanket to sit on or outdoor seating as if you would to a picnic or outdoor festival. 

5. How long is the performance?

(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge is approximately 26 minutes. 

6. This is really awesome! Can I take pictures or video?

(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge is a unique performance. You are welcome to take pictures and/ or video. If you post these publicly, please credit Jessica Warchal-King with the choreography and David Cullen with the music. You can also find a list of the performers in the program. Also use the hashtags #riversmergedance  #jcwk #jcwkembodimentproject. 

7. I have to pee! 

There are no restrooms at Scott Park. Please take care of any personal needs before coming to the performance. 

8. This is awesome! What's next? 

Please contact Jessica at jcwarchalking@gmail.com for updates on The Embodiment Project and future performances of (in)visible veins. Also, please come and spend the evening at the Williams Center for the Arts for more amazing dance! 

Thank you so much for your support! I look forward to seeing you!

(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge - the cast (part 2)

Over 20 students from DeSales University are diving into this process of re-staging (in)visible veins: Rivers Merge. In no particular order and in their own words, I'd like to introduce them to you (continued from part 1):

"My name is Brittany Clark and I am a sophomore dance major at DeSales University. I have been dancing since I was three. Rivers Merge is my first professional performance and I am excited about it."

"Mariette Aungst is a Dance and Communications dual major at DeSales University. She has been dancing since she was 4, and has competed and performed extensively in musicals and showcases, including Dance the World in Disney World and Beat Addikts United. Since coming to DeSales, she has participated in a dance photography workshop and has also modeled for TV/Film magazines. She is thrilled to be able to have this opportunity."

"William Brazdzionis is a freshman dance major at DeSales University. William has performed in Giants Stadium with the East Stroudsburg North High School North Color Guard, and performed in many musical performances with The Shawnee Playhouse. William wishes to continue with his dance career and become a performer and educator for future dancers."

"Cailin Sweeney is a junior dance major at DeSales University. She has choreographed for the DeSales Informal Concert and the 48 Hour Screendance Film Challenge, where she won best film for "Colder Than Your Shoulder" in 2014. She has performed in DeSales Emerging Choreographer's Concert, Informal Dance Concert, and Dance Ensemble Concert. She is currently a principle dancer for "Lehigh Valley Dancers" a local screendance company."

"Krista Capra is from Lopatcong, NJ. She is a dance major at DeSales University. She loves dance and has been dancing for 15 years. She was so thankful to have the opportunity to dance in Rivers Merge, it is such a great experience to perform. Every chance Krista can get to perform, she will take. In the future Krista dreams of moving to New York City to teach dance and audition. She also hopes to dance in Disney and on a cruise line."

"Chiedu Mbonu is a sophomore dance major. He has previously been seen in Amplify and in DSU's Screendance Festival '14. I would like to thank Jessica for allowing us to be in my first professional performance, and allowing me to be one with nature. :-)"

"Lindsey Mitchell is currently a freshman dance major at DeSales University. She previously studied at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts where she also majored in dance. She is very excited to have this opportunity and is looking forward to a professional career serving the artistic community."

"Tara Swann. I am a freshman Dance and Business Administration double major at DeSales University. I hope to own my own dance studio and use it as an outreach program. I would like to help kids with learning disabilities or families who can't afford to put their children in dance classes."

I'm grateful to be working with such a diligent group of dancers. See you this weekend at Scott Park, Easton.

(in)visible veins: Rivers Merge in process

Sunday we were so lucky to share the tech/ dress rehearsal for (in)visible veins: Rivers Merge with the city of Easton's 2015 Riverside Festival of the Arts! Pictured below is the schedule of events that was posted throughout Riverside Park. 

When doing an outdoor performance, part of the performance practice is being aware that we're always "on stage". Very much like the traditional theatre setting, we needed to be prepared to improvise within the intention of the work, if necessary. By rehearsing outside, we had the opportunity to experience the sun in our eyes, enthusiastic passers-by, bugs, and the changing of the temperature as the evening progressed. We also needed to get accustomed to the space - not only being outside, but performing in a way that projected our energy and intention way out into the universe. Usually, in a theatre, the space is already contained. Outside, there is no limit to the space and therefore, the performers need to adjust the way we perform. 

We began our rehearsal at the Amphitheater with a beautiful view of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers merging in the background. 

As you can see, the Amphitheater has a huge audience seating space and we did have an audience for our warm up - a guided improvisation of finding internally and externally circular pathways, plies, tendues, and swings. Blake, our technician, set up speakers for us to amplify our music and Kelly, the coordinator of Choreographers on Campus and the Rivers Merge Dance Festival, was on site to help curious onlookers understand what was happening and to let them know about the Rivers Merge Dance Festival next week at Scott Park and The Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College. 

There were local bands playing at Scott Park until 5pm, so after our initial rehearsal in the Amphitheater, we moved over to Scott Park and really dropped into the performance practice. We talked about how to negotiate where the audience might be and how to fill the space, both with our physical movement and with our energy. Again, Blake and Kelly were on site to help with the technical issues and administer information to members of the public who provided an audience for us during the rehearsal.

The lighting will be a little different on Friday and Saturday as the world continues to rotate around the sun and the seasons change, but I'm really excited for the performance! Some of the audience members said that it was a really "magical and calming" experience.

The Morning Call previewed the Arts Festival. Thanks for the shout out! Riverside Festival of the Arts

Rivers (and more) Merge in the Lehigh Valley

Angela Sigley Grossman and I have been working diligently in the studio. I'm expanding (in)visible veins: Rivers Merge to include a new community and new dancers. We'll meet again in the studio on Friday!

Until then... some of the promo materials are out:

NGPP Residency at Lafayette College

Days after I returned from my amazing adventures in Germany with KYL/D, I traveled with the Nora Gibson Performance Project to a residency at Lafayette College.

A GIANT Thank YOU to the Lafayette College faculty and staff and Ben Munisteri! The space was beautiful! The Inn where we stayed was welcoming and cozy! The opportunity to work with Nora for 5 hrs a day was a luxury!

I was almost too engrossed in the experience to take some pictures, but here are a few:

The beauty of the light streaming into the window and creating dancing
shadows on the floor gave me a little extra inspiration after four
hours of rehearsal and pointe...

This was my view from "barre" as I warmed up before each rehearsal.

Best friends! Beautiful shoes. My notebook. Oofos (AMAZING post-pointe shoes!!)
Get Oofos here
(I don't get any proceeds for endorsing Oofos - they just feel amazing and
help after a long day of rehearsal)

Nora working out Math and Composition problems

This is what happens when I asked them to "do something"!

Action shots! Thank you to the Lafayette photographer who also took some images and shared them with us so I could share with you! (There were a lot more, but some of them contained images of students and I didn't want to invade anyone's privacy by posting them). 

Stay tuned for updates as to when the work that we created during this time will be publicly shown! We did have a showing at the end of the residency, but I was too busy dancing to post information about that (Sorry!).