KYL/D senior dance artist Jessica Warchal-King is the community blogger for KYL/D's upcoming endeavor, the Faith Project. Jessica is a Philly-based performer, choreographer, educator, and arts advocate who earned her BA in Dance and Anthropology from Muhlenberg College, and her MFA in Performance and Choreography from Temple University. She is a contributor for the dance blog DanceAdvantage.net, as well as her own blog: JCWK Dance Lab: Fieldnotes. Take it away Jess!

Here are 10 reasons why I’m excited about
“Faith Project”

1. “Faith Project” continues KYL/D’s tradition of using fierce contemporary dance to explore issues of social justice, challenging the dance artists and audience members to address tough topics we face as individuals and as communities.

2. We have received generous support from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts! Thank you!

3. We’ll be working with and learning from the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia and members of the community.

4. We’ll be working with new dancers that will have joined the company after our recent auditions.

5. Kun-Yang and composer Cory Neale will continue their ongoing, collaborative relationship.

6. We’ll be collaborating with and learning from two nationally renowned artists - scholar/ dancer/ author Kimerer LaMothe, and multimedia designer Jared Mezzocchi.

7. There will be public Story Circles, Open Showings, and Performances to share the process. As a dance artist, I always learn so much from these events about the work; they allow me to be more thorough in my own creative research and performance process.   

8. By hosting these events at our dance center, CHI Movement Arts Center, KYL/D is deepening our commitment to the local community - a process that began when the studio opened and grew more rich through the process of “HOME/ S. 9th St.”

9. Kun-Yang often speaks of dance as his religion. This project offers us the opportunity to explore the relationships between contemporary dance and faith-based practices. How can they inform each other? Can dance practice provide a safe space for us to explore religious differences?

10. The 2017-2018 season celebrates 10 years of KYL/D in Philadelphia!

And there’s more… stay tuned!

We’ll be exploring more about the process of “Faith Project” through this company blog, posting our events on the website and social media. We look forward to seeing you at CHI MAC and sharing the journey with you!

~ Jessica Warchal-King

(NOTE: To make a comment on this blog, you do not need to make an account- just click "Comment(s)" in the bottom left hand corner, write your comment in the comment box that appears, click "Post Comment..." then type in your first and last name and click "Comment as Guest" If you have any difficulty, e-mail jessica@kyld.org with your thoughts)

Major support for the Faith project has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.