World Ballet Day - today!

There's nothing quite like celebrating ballet with the rest of the dance world, if in name, only. How did you celebrate?

Online, international ballet companies broadcasted previous performances all day. The dance community social-media-sphere was full of pictures and quotes and favorite ballet memories. I was in class and rehearsal today, which is a great way to celebrate any occasion, especially World Ballet Day.

What else is exciting? On World Ballet Day, put this in your calendar:

Click here for more info on the performance

Dark White from Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet on Vimeo.

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!

Dancing for the camera

In August, the Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet worked with director Joseph B. Carlin on a video shoot. Behind the scenes post - August

Here's the final video. (It's quite beautiful if I do say so myself. Thanks, Nora, Gina, Amy, Melissa, and Joe!)

Ta-ku - We Were in Love from Joseph B. Carlin on Vimeo.

More info on Joseph Carlin: Transfixion Films

More info on the Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet: Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet

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!).