It's National Moon Day. Today in 1969, NASA's Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
A lot has changed since 1969. And a lot hasn't.
The recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope released by NASA remind me how small our perception of space and time is. I'm also reminded of the power of a few people to make a difference.
So, in honor of National Moon Day, I encourage all of us to look up, connect, find our joy, and to make positive waves of change by being our authentic selves.
Save the dates!
A next cast of JCWK Dance Lab will be dancing at the Reading Public Museum in collaboration with Reading Theater Project's In Nature's Studio.
When: July 10 at 5:30pm
Where: Reading Public Museum's Arboretum
What: In Nature's Studio brings performing artists out from inside the theater to the beautiful Reading Public Museum Arboretum. Audiences may experience In Nature's Studio through a guided walk or on their own independent journey. Tickets are free, but donations on site are welcome. Reserve your guided walk time by clicking here.
Read the press release here.
Art work by Andrew Pochan
The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange is a platform I've developed through JCWK Dance Lab. It's a show on BCTV.org where I interview local adult dancers, educate our viewers about different styles of dance in Berks County, reveal opportunities for adult dancers, and share the ways that dance can be a vehicle for non-violent, positive social change through conversation, curiosity, sharing, and play. It's also a Facebook page where I post any adult-based dance information I come across that's happening in Berks County.
Last week I interviewed local Hip Hop artist, Richard Maldonado, Jr. I've known Richie for several years and I'm so grateful for his tenacious passion and commitment to community. Check it out:
Today's National Tap Dance Day.
But I don't feel like celebrating.
Yesterday, the U.S. witnessed another elementary school shooting.
Another.
It feels more appropriate to scream, shout, make some noise.
So maybe Tap Dancing.
Metal on wood.
...
Dancing won't stop bullets, but it does bring us together to create joy and build connections. Dance is wellness - mental and physical (May is mental health awareness month). Dancing shares out stories and develops empathy.
We could all afford to dance a bit more these days.
There are many ways to make noise.
There are many was to be seen and heard.
Happy May!
How are you? What is springing up in your world?
Happy Small Business Week! I'm proud to be an artist/ entrepreneur. In this role, if you've been following along, I'm building a dancing world with Joy, Connection, and Wellness at the forefront of Kinesthetic storytelling to inspire non-violent, positive social change.
The past two years have been rich with research, development, and relationship building. The that end, I've created The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange on BCTV.org to bring awareness of dance for adults in Berks County, worked with several organizations on non-violence programming, and collaborated on several projects with local artists and performing arts organizations. I've also written and received several grants and am working with several local small business incubators.
In the interest of sustainability, both from a business and environmental perspective, I've been looking into ways to create revenue to support JCWK Dance Lab's community engagement and professional performances.
I've sprung up a store on Bonfire. The We Are StarDust line is an original creation that reflects my creative research over the past two years. I'll be continuing with this research in the coming months with another performance project and workshops that investigate the relationships between earthly bodies and celestial bodies.
Would you help to support JCWK Dance Lab and join in the movement to create positive social change through We Are StarDust?
I've chosen Bonfire because they "source products from a group of vendors who are WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) certified and 100 percent 'sweat free'." I'm sure I'll learn a lot from this initial launch. More designs and adventures coming soon!
April 30th was a special day.
I've written about my involvement with the Berks Youth Violence Prevention Committee. (My small role included creating a dance for a Random Act of Culture that was used for both the YWCA and the BYCPC; attending committee meetings for the past few months; teaching the dance at several pop ups, including in front of City Hall with the Mayor of Reading.)
The months of planning culminated in a walk and a ceremony. Quite a few news organizations documented the event. Click the links below to see the articles.
Thank you, Berks4Peace for allowing me to share joy, create connections, and build mental and physical wellness through dance!
Hi, Friend.
How are you?
I hope that the spring holidays and opportunities for transformation are finding you inspired and connecting with yourself and those you love.
It feels hard, sometimes. (There's a lot going on...)
I've been cultivating sprouts of joy in my own small way through growing my community and connections through dance. It's sometimes challenging and not everyone understands my optimism, and that's okay.
I'm hosting another episode of The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange tonight at 6:30pm EST on BCTV.org. You can watch the live stream by clicking here at 6:30pm -->> click "watch now" -->> click BCTV.org. There's a lot blossoming, dance wise, around the Berks County community right now. In preparing this program, I was inspired by the tenacious endeavors of people who live within a few miles of me to use dance to create joy and build connections. To use dance as a vehicle for non-violent, positive social change.
What is blossoming in your world? Please let me know.
Take care!
Warmly,
Jessica
PS. You can watch previous episodes of The Greater Reading Area Dance Exchange on BCTV.org's YouTube channel by clicking here or catch the rerun schedule by checking out the program page, linked here.
P.P.S. In case you're interested in my own germinations... In Feb and March, I continued sharing my We Are StarDust workshops with several communities, both in person and virtually. I've been working with Alvernia University's Dance Company on several projects that involve dance as service, including for Berks4Peace, which is a non-violence campaign in Berks. I led a pop-up dance in front of City Hall with the Mayor of Reading and several other community groups where we performed the dance I co-created last fall for the YWCA's Week without Violence. We'll be dancing again as part of the Berks for Peace event on April 30th, which concludes the National Youth Violence Prevention Week. April 29th is International Dance Day. Happy Dancing!
A few pics of the excitement below....
