Local Inspiration, Creative Collaboration

“Celebrating the Fabric of America from a Woman’s Perspective: In Motion” is a dance movement meditation on Michele Byrne’s artwork. Performed and choreographed by dancers from the Alvernia community, they weave personal narratives in communication with the stories presented by Michele Byrne.

Where: Alvernia University’s Miller Gallery in Francis Hall

When: Tuesday, March 12 at 4pm

Here are some of the "ingredients"/ research that create the "soup" of this choreographic process:

1. Michele Byrne's "Celebrating the Fabric of America from a Woman's Perspective". In a program in the gallery, describing some of the work, Ms. Byrne discussed her subjects. Each of them are women with whom she's familiar and many of them local. Each woman also provided a reflection of their process in working with Ms. Byrne, which included reflections on their own background and stories.

2. Musical selections from Jill Haley's National Park Series. These pieces are Ms. Haley's creative reflections on national treasures throughout the United States.

3. White costumes. White light is the absorption of all colors. White as a fabric, when worn by women, has become a symbol of women's rights, in the US.

4. Female performers of various ages and backgrounds from the Greater Reading area.

5. The audience. Our audience is witness to this collaboration and becomes part of the performance - the seeing of, sharing, and embodying stories of local women.

International Women's Day - thanks, Press!

Thanks to Susan Pena and the Reading Eagle for featuring this article (on the front page AND the lead for their Lifestyle section). This is recogination is particularly important on International Women's Day...

Thank you to all of the folks who have allowed me to stand on their shoulder... and thank you to all of the folks who will stand on mine. There's lots of work to be done...

Dance, Joy, Connection, and Wellness

Pic from the Reading Eagle 

InHale 39 times

KYL/D's 39th InHale Performance Series is this weekend.

Whew... that's over 10 years that I've curated and organized this excitement of performance work.

Here are some of the amazing artists sharing their voices this weekend:


KYL/D's InHale Performance Series March 1 2019 from Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers on Vimeo.

Get your tickets at the Dance Box Office.

In the news

Thank you, to everyone who came out to Reading Theater Project's 5-Minute Fringe Festival last weekend!

The shows were over sold (!), the audiences were engaged, and the cast was a great group of folks. I deeply appreciated being able to share myself in a supportive environment in an honest and authentic way. I'm grateful that I began new conversations and creative relationships.

And! There was so much press!

It was previewed in the Reading Times/ Reading Eagle's Weekender. (But the online link isn't working.)

Click here to see me talk about the Festival on the local news station.

And in case you missed the performance, Susan Pena reviewed it for the Reading Times/ Reading Eagle:

"...choreographer/dancer Jessica Warchal-King's “Shed,” to music by Jude Eden, using an upside-down folding table as a prop, is absolutely mesmerizing. Her intense, often spiritual exploration of metamorphosis combines consummate grace, expression of the music, and economy, clearly influenced by an Asian aesthetic. Watching the articulation and eloquence of her back is a dance lover's dream."

Click here to read the rest of the review. 

Thanks, Berks County!

Pic of Berks County from World Atlas

Shed - research part 2

One day last fall, Yogi Kristen spoke these words before our yoga practice at The Restorative Center. I was in the midst of purging a multi-family storage unit and questioning my role as an artist, mother, and partner.

Kristen spoke of the trees. (I love The Lorax by Dr. Seuss).

"Every year," she said, "The trees let go of their leaves. They don't need them anymore. They don't get upset about it, they just let them go. New leaves emerge the following year and the trees seem to be confident in their own cycle. But, they have to let go in order for the next process to occur. We need to let go of stuff that doesn't serve us anymore in order for us to grow."

BAM! (That was one of those I'm-not-really-sure-if-I'll-make-it-today days. I'm so grateful I went to practice.)

I've been holding Kristen's words as I've been purging - not just my stuff, but my body too. My body is different now. As my physicality has changed and my physical practice has needed to change. After an injury, the goal is usually to “get back to normal”. But after giving birth, there’s a new “normal”. This new practice is learning how to understand new pathways as I develop a new relationship with my body in time and space.

In my pre-Mom-life, I spent years under the mentorship of Kun-Yang Lin and Nora Gibson. As any dancer tries to, I tailored my physical practice to the needs of their choreography and artistry. Since stepping away, I've been able to let go of some of their aesthetics as my body discovers new pathways that are uniquely mine. I write this with total gratitude. I understand a student will always acclimate nuances and stylistic impulses from their teacher, but there is also a time when the student needs to step away and continue to grow.

Kun-Yang and Nora will always serve me and be a huge part of my heart and story, but it's been time (and I’ve been reluctant to admit it) to step out on my own - as a mover, artist, teacher, performer, creator, director...

So, Shed is informed by letting go, and saying "Thank you" to that which has served me, to the things that I've held onto, and to the people and places who have shaped me. Not just movement pathways from Kun-Yang and Nora, but the books from my grad program, pictures from old vacations, treasures I've saved, the dining set that's been a centerpiece in most of my adult living spaces, notes from friends who made a lasting impact on my heart... Dancing these feelings and stories is a way to move through this time of change with authenticity and awareness.

It's a very scary and vulnerable place and I'm so grateful for my past and the people who are emerging in my present.

Shed - research

SHED - \'shed\

1. Verb (1)
a. to set apart. to cause to be dispersed without penetrating (duck's plumage sheds water). c. to cause *blood* to flow by cutting or wounding. d. to pour forth in drops (shed tears). e. to give off or out (shed some light on the subject). f. to give off, discharge or expel from the body of a plant or animal such as to eject, slough off, or lose as part of the normal process of life or to discharge usually gradually especially as part of a pathological process. g. to rid oneself of temporarily or permaently as superfluous or unwanted.

2. Verb, intransitive (2)
a. to pour out. b. to become dispersed. c. to cast off some natural covering (such as fur or skin). d. to cause death by violence.

3. Verb, (3)
to put or house in a shed.

4.. Noun (1)
a. obsolete. b. something that is discarded. c. a divide of land

5. Noun (2)
a. a slight structure build for shelter or storage. b. a building that resembles a shed. c. hut

6. A Dance (1)
Shed is a contemporary dance solo that will premier as part of the Reading Theater Project's 5-Minute Fringe Festival. Get your tickets here.

Re-view. Re-flect. Re-new.

“Re”: a prefix of Latin origin . Meaning again and again.

I’ve REpeated throughout 2018 that this year was “The year of RE-...” During my REflection on this last evening of 2018, I REalized that, despite feeling my world was in a constant state of REcovery, REbellion, and REvolution, I was also the REcepient of beautifully REcycled and REcently discovered gifts of the Universe in 2018.

Over the past year, I’ve REmoved myself from much of the public, virtual sphere to REconnect, REcharge, and RElease myself from REsidual expectations. I REturn to this blog with REverence and REspect for the lessons I learned during the past year. I’ve REduced the many REvelations down to 18 elements for which I’m extremely grateful:

18 REwards from 2018 (in no particular order):

Professionally...

1. Returning to Berks Ballet Theatre to teach and set a new work on the company. The piece, (re)tracing weathered veins, was performed at the Philly Youth Dance Fest in Philadelphia, PA and in Reading, PA. I created the piece to the music of veteran and artist Jude Eden and Reading native Jill Haley (with permission).

2. Engaging in new, raw research that resulted in a solo. Stained Glass physically reflected on aspects of my first year as a mother. AND performing Stained Glass in Reading and in Philadelphia.

3. Co-producting a performance in Philadelphia that benefitted Mary’s Shelter in Reading, PA. Little Things was a part of SOLOWFest. We were able to give a nice monetary donation to Mary’s Shelter along with several things on their Wish List. For me, this was one of the ways I began to understand and develop a relationship with my community in Reading.

4. Getting to know some of Service Learning folks of Penn State Berks’ and Albright College through the This is Reading Dancers project.

5. Presenting at the icommit RIZE Mindfulness Workshop for Youth in Reading.

6. Performing as part of the D.O.T.S. (Dancing on the Streets) Festival in Reading.

7. Collaborating with writer and film-maker Jake Buczewski to re-investigate and re-discover the potential of artmaking while seemingly isolated. AND creating my first dance on camera production in collaboration with Jake Buczewski and premiering it in Philadelphia.

8. Returning to the Lehigh Valley to teach at the DeSales Summer Dance Intensive and as part of the
Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange’s Master Class Series.

9. Developing a Contemporary Dance Summer Workshop series for adults in Reading (and local dancers responding!) resulting in an ongoing Contemporary Dance Movement Practice for EveryBody at The Restorative Center.

10. Leading several sessions of dance classes with members of Alvernia’s Seniors’ College.

11. Celebrating a year of Dance for Wellness classes at the Tower Health/ Reading Hospital Rehab Center.

12. Developing 10 original dance pieces for Widener University and continuing the creative collaborations within the Fine Arts Department.

13. Accepting a position as Artist in Residence at Alvernia University.

And personally...

14. Justin and I celebrated 10 years of marriage.

15. Celebrating Tristan’s first birthday and Baptism.

16. Purging physical, mental, and emotional stuff.

17. Finding a gathering place for like-minded, curious people at The Restorative Center.

18. Rediscovering constant gratitude for family and friends who are on this journey with me and continue to support and challenge me.

What are some of the lessons you learned in 2018?

What are your hopes for 2019?

Happy New Year!

Photo by Mike Hurwitz

Photo by Jake Buczewski

Berks Ballet Theatre performing (re)tracing weathered etchings photo by Julieanne Harris