Almanac presents visionary artists in this in this short work series.

Sat, Sep 3 at 8:30pm at ICEBOX | Guest curated by Megan Mazerick

Mon, Sep 12 at 6:00pm at ICEBOX | Ben Grinberg, Adam Kerbel, and Emmanuel Becerra

Sun, Sep 11 at 7:00pm, Mon, Sep 12 at 9:00pm, and Tue, Sep 13 at 9:00pm at MAAS | Annie Wilson and Colby Calhoun

Tue, Sep 27 at 7:30pm and Thu, Sep 29 at 8:30pm at MAAS | L Feldman and Adam Kerbel

Sat, Sep 3 curated by Megan Mazerick

An evening of work created by six Philadelphia-based choreographers and performers. Visions features work by Jungwoong Kim, Lily Kind, Megan Mazarick, Ama Ma’at G. Oyesii, and Snack Break Movement Arts (Artists Emily “Lady Em” Pietruszka and Joshua “Bboy Supa Josh”). Five short dances about rituals, humor, identity, and vulnerability with some of Philadelphia’s most celebrated movers.

This show is presented as part of Cannonball Festival, Philly’s artist-centered performance hub, packing in 65+ full length shows and 300 performances in two nearby venues. Discover risk-taking theater, dance, circus, music, and comedy alongside a vibrant garden bar with a free nightly cabaret, pop-up events, workshops, artist talkbacks, and more. September 1–30 at the Maas Building (1320 N 5th St) and Icebox Project Space (1400 N American St). Learn more at cannonballfestival.org.

Health & Safety

Proof of vaccination is required to attend this event, and masks must be worn for the duration of the performance. Audience members will be asked to show proof of vaccination before entering the venue. Both digital and physical proof of vaccination are accepted. Please plan accordingly.

About the Artist

AMA MA’AT G. OYESII Ama Ma’at G. Oyesii (we/they) is a black, queer, multi-hyphenate being and cosmic creator. Their work is steeped in storytelling and vernacular movements. The black bodies identity, the ability to transcend in the black body and rituals created for the black body are at the epicenter of their current research. They studied and received their BFA in Dance from Georgian Court University and their MFA in dance from Temple University. As their roles rotate, bend and switch they find home in a myriad of places mostly within.

Work description: something soft is a performance ritual tracing the building of a metaphorical home within the body. Questioning the bodies capacity, weight and endurance. The viewer is invited into soft blues which translate celebrations, memories and dreaming.

JUNGWOONG KIM

Jungwoong Kim is a cross-disciplinary artist and arts educator who brings to his work more than 20 years of practice in experimental and improvisational performance, Contact Improvisation, set design, film editing, and choreography for theater. His work often addresses the role of human loss and grief in shaping individual and collective identities. It embodies aesthetic traditions of Korean Shamanism from his homeland of South Korean, as well as Deep Listening studies with Pauline Oliveros, immersive strategies of visual artists such as Ann Hamilton, and work with site-specific and post/modern choreographers. He is especially grateful to Asian Arts Initiative and Wilma Theater/HotHouse for being generative spaces for him to explore and present his artistic imagination during his nearly 15 years living and working in Philadelphia.

Title: go home (in-progress working)

Choreograph & mover: Jungwoong

Voice recording: Jungwoong

MEGAN MAZARICK

Megan Mazarick is a Philadelphia-based choreographer, performer, and teacher. She earned her BFA in dance from UNCG and an MFA in choreography from Temple University. Her work has been presented internationally (Singapore, Bulgaria, Egypt, Poland, Australia, Mexico, and Hungary) and throughout the USA (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York City, New Jersey, North Carolina, West Virginia, etc.).Her choreography has been supported by the US Embassy in Singapore, the US Embassy in Bulgaria, and the US Embassy in Egypt. As a performer she has worked with David Gordon, Susan Rethorst, Keith Thompson, Marianela Boan, Merian Soto, Anonymous Bodies, and Black Box Dance Theater. Megan has taught technique, improvisation, and composition classes at studios, festivals, and universities around the globe. She currently teaches dance as an Assistant Professor at Georgian Court University.

Description of work:

old swan is an art lecture with live looping vocals called that plays with the meaning of words and sounds. The text is set prior to the performance and rhythm and delivery is explored in live time. The movement investigation is an improvisational structure based on interpreting and referencing the words in different ways. There are literal interpretations and interpretations that are rhythmic and based in movement modes. Other aspects of the improvisation come from the audience reaction. I love a know-it-all character that leads audience astray and I am playing with the expectation of the viewer inside of the performance. This solo premiered at American College Dance Festival 2022 and will be performed at the Solo Dance Festival in Gdansk, Poland in September 2022.

SNACK BREAK MOVEMENT ARTS

Artists Emily “Lady Em” Pietruszka and Joshua “Bboy Supa Josh” Culbreath are Snack Break Movement Arts; a performance duo specializing in street-dance-inspired performance works made for the concert stage. Together, Emily and Josh are rehearsal and choreography directors for the renowned hip-hop theater company, Rennie Harris Puremovement. Individually, they are active practitioners, educators, and choreographers in the street dance community of Philadelphia, PA. Snack Break Movement Arts aims to address and refocus the lens through which audiences view street dance and the various social binaries that are implicit in their mutual stage presence as a black male/ white female duo. They seek to pay homage to the lineage of street dance movement languages that live in their bodies and communities, while also challenging the way audiences consume street dance through the utilization of theatrics, the concert stage, and contemporary movement practices.

Description:

“Rock, Paper…” is an excerpt of a larger work entitled, “Truth or Dare,” which was created and premiered by Snack Break in May, 2022. Through the playful utilization of childhood games, the performers explore power struggles, consider the consequences of choice, and the revealing nature of vulnerability in real-time.

LILY KIND

Lily Kind is a critically acclaimed choreographer, dancer, producer, and writer. Lily is continuously learning about the social history behind forms of dance and seeking to uplift the intersection of history, identity, and performance by intentionally aligning with underdog artists and communities. Her work has been presented by Table Gallery (Chicago), Miami Light Projects, Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company, the Creative Alliance (Baltimore), and The Baltimore Museum of Art. She has been an artist in residence at SoundSpace Performing Arts in Philadelphia and a dance writer in residence at Dance Italia (Italy/NYC). Her dance writing has been published by Culture Bot, Phindie, and thinkingDance. She was the 2018 Artblog + The St. Claire’s New Art Writing Contest! winner < 500 words. From 2008 – 2014 she directed the Effervescent Collective in Baltimore, Maryland, gaining recognition as Best Choreographer, Baltimore Magazine, 2014, Best Dance Company, Effervescent Collective, Baltimore City Paper, 2010, 2012, Best Dance Company, Effervescent Collective, Baltimore Magazine, 2012, winning a Baker Artist Award ‘B’ Grant, 2011, and being cited as Top 10 Baltimoreans to Watch Under 30, by the Baltimore Sun in 2011. She has provided movement direction for Play Co, NYC, The Baltimore Rock Opera, Annex Theater, and Single Carrot Theater. She has performed in Philly with Chelsea Murphy, Magda San Millan, Andrew Simonet, Mark “Metal” Wong, and The Medium Theater Company. She has choreographed music videos for Bosley, Carsie Blanton, Sianna Plavin, and appeared in music videos for Dan Deacon, Dungeonesse, Echoes, and Hard Work Movement.

Under the leadership of Vince Johnson, Lily helped develop Urban Movement Arts (UMA), where she served as all around co-captain of adult programming. At UMA, Lily developed an artists in residence program and correlating performance series Workinonit. At UMA, Lily also taught Lindy Hop and Vernacular Jazz in partnership with Ragtag Empire. Outside of Philly, she has taught vernacular jazz at California Institute of the Arts, Swing Jose (Costa Rica), and Apollo Swing (Belgium). She is an alumnus of Breai Mason-Campbell’s group Gaurdian Baltimore. In 2021, she co-created dance history podcast Tracing Steps with Mel Cotton.

Lily is one of few US American trained extensively in Flying Low and Passing Through, the improvisational floorwork style of David Zambrano. In 2019 she participated in Zambrano’s 60 Days of Improvisation, at Tic Tac Art Center in Brussels, Belgium. She has also trained with Zambrano and his assistant Milan Herich in Costa Rica, Thailand, and New York. She has taught Flying Low workshops at Princeton University, Miami Light Project, and Concord Academy. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance Creation with a concentration in Afro-Diasporic Studies from Goddard College, where she worked closely with Dr. Gale Jackson. She also holds a certificate from Headlong Dance Theater and yoga teaching credentials from Magu Yoga and Yoga Movement Sanctuary. She has a BA in Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies from Goucher College.