Double Bill

Braiding Stihia — Evalina “Wally” Carbonell

Drawing inspiration from the regenerative capacity of the snake and archetypal female monsters of myth, specifically the Medusa, Braiding Stihia* was further incarnated through Evalina’s own research on Kundalini energy through the lens of the Gyrotonic Expansion System. Many elements of this interdisciplinary work were created in support of her Research as Action which was shared last summer in Montpellier, France as a part of her graduate studies in Dance at Bennington College. Stihia’s rope-like extremities are made of recycled materials, ripped, woven, and braided together by the choreographer in collaboration with her children and members of her community. Evalina will be joined on stage by her children, dance artist, Brandi Ou and her children and performance artist, Solana Hoffman-Carter, who will speak the choreographer’s poetry.

“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” ~Carl Jung

*Stihia is an Ancient Greek word meaning, ‘inevitable ‘force of nature’

Jazz Story No. 5: Traction — Pamela Hetherington

What I aim to do with my jazz stories is not make them straight biographies and instead enrich relevant themes with my own voice. This work of telling other people’s stories inevitably reveals facets of my own journey in dance and music. I start researching, and the stuff I find is just a portal into my own experiences; perhaps that is why I am drawn to them, or why they are drawn to me.

For my fifth jazz story, which is focusing on the life of Dottie Smith, I’m reflecting on how gaining traction – especially in the case of a solo, subtle and satiric art form – is a tricky thing.

PRICING

PWYC $0-50

Tickets for this show are Pay What You Can, which means you are able to pick your price. Seating is General Admission and is not determined by the amount you choose to pay.

VENUE

FringeArts
140 N Columbus Blvd
Philadelphia PA 19106

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Evalina “Wally” Carbonell

Evalina “Wally” Carbonell is an independent creator and Dance Artist based in the USA. She received her early training at the National Ballet School in MD and went on to earn her BFA in Dance from Florida State University.  Upon graduation, she danced for six seasons as a principal artist with Roxey Ballet Company and spent a year free-lancing and working with Dance Iquail.  In 2012, Evalina joined Kun-Yang Lin Dancers (KYL/D) where she has spent the last twelve years as a principal dance artist, in-house choreographer, and curator of the Inhale Performance Series.  2012 also marked the beginning of her choreographic career, since which she has produced 8 different shows of her own work for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, received the Ellen Forman Award for choreography in 2017, funding from Small but Mighty Arts in 2018, and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2022 for her choreography on KYL/D. The summer of 2024 marked her first overseas production of her own work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  She will graduate from Bennington College with an MFA in Dance this spring. In addition to sharing her choreography nationally and locally, Evalina is a teacher of dance, GYROKINESIS® and GYROTONIC ® and the mother of two young children. 

Pamela Hetherington

I advance the art form of tap dance through my explorations of sound, text, music and American history. Through the improvisational forms of tap dance and jazz music, I maintain a daily devotional practice of clearing paths; drawing attention to people, shared concepts, and legacies that have been covered over by time. Telling ‘jazz stories,’ especially those about women in jazz who are specifically described in history as forgotten, or unappreciated, is how I bring together my creative streams of dance, music, writing and shared narratives. I intentionally place my work where audiences can experience tap dance as an instrument: in public libraries, community gardens and museums, on commercial corridors, street corners, and jazz venues. I’m invested in the communities that contribute to the next evolutions of the dance. PamelaHetherington.com

What is Scratch Night: Open Rehearsal?

We are excited to announce a new extension of our Scratch Nights: Open Rehearsals! You’ll see one or two artists present a longer segment or a full run-through of their show. These are not full-scale productions. Artists may be workshopping an existing show in advance of a run, or they might be the stage of developing a new piece where they need to bring an engaged audience. Similar to our typical “variety” style Scratch Nights, these events have PWYC ticketing starting from $0, 100% of which goes to the Artist.