A question of morality! Temple MFA Thesis Concert

Emerging Choreographers Angela Sigley, Jessica C. Warchal-King, and Laura Zimmerman question the role (and lack) of morality and ethics in our society in a joint modern dance concert. Each performance will include all three dance works.

Angela Sigley presents The Rented World, an exploration of fear and morbid curiosity.  The movement is chilling and unsettling, but sparks of beauty flash out from beneath the harsh exterior of violence and death, images cultivated from horror films.  Convinced that morbid curiosity is an unexplainable and unavoidable aspect of human nature, Sigley is researching the societal fascination with violence and death as entertainment, highlighting the tendency to abuse or mistreat others within social relationships. She confronts the audience with an emotional and moral dilemma:  to experience concern for the violated, or to continue rubber-necking at the wreckage?  Bodies dangle, choke, collapse, and disintegrate as Sigley reveals the dark places within us all. Performed by five women with lighting design by Ashleigh Penrod, The Rented World broadcasts our attraction to the things that disturb us, the things we do not understand, and the things that scare us. Dancers: Sarah Masluk, Colleen McNally, Lyndi Shivak, Angela Sigley, Jessica Warchal-King.

microcosmic current, presented by Jessica C. Warchal-King, is a physical investigation of the felt experiences of emotional violence. Pounding chest. Butterflies. Shortness of breath. Fire in the stomach. What happens to the body when the mind experiences chaos? Is it possible to disintegrate the mind from the body or the experiences from the individual? Warchal-King delves into the realm of the individual’s isolation within a society obsessed with social connection.  In a shared environment, eight women linearly burst through the space. Their bodies intertwine and morph the proscenium. They circulate. Pulse. Whisper. Explode. Contract. Surge. Grounded in research of mind-body centering practices and philosophies, Warchal-King explores the sacredness of the human form and the power of embodied experiences to translate empathy and compassion where words alone fail. In microcosmic current, she is joined by musician/ composer Christopher Farrell, founder of the World/Jazz ensemble the RitMo Collective, and lighting designer Jimena Alviar. Dancers: Cassandra Cotta, Dominique Dalia, Sarah Masluk, Camille Moten, Caitlin Quinn, Megan Quinn, Angela Sigley, Jessica C. Warchal-King.

Disruption, discourtesy, distraction, dysfunction.  Dis/connect, by Laura Zimmerman, is a work that addresses the societal problems and dysfunctions resulting from our love affair with mobile technology and our increasingly “plugged-in” society. Dis/connect highlights and investigates issues of social courtesy, connection/disconnection to others and one’s environment, individual priorities, and public safety, while provoking personal introspection regarding the addictive behaviors that mobile technologies invoke.  Fluidity, curvature, and richness are juxtaposed by machine-like, angular, and automated movement. Seemingly inseparable physical bonds deteriorate into disrepair.  Round, living and breathing three-dimensional beings navigate a linear, physically constricted environment. Joining Zimmerman in this effort are graphical computer programmer Cicada Brokaw and electronic engineer Thomas Bethell.  Through the mediums of modern dance, theater, videography, sound design, and interactive technology, Zimmerman ventures to ask, “Are we really in control of this technology?”  Dancers: Alexis Aponte, Tiara Canizares, Cassandra Cotta, Briel Driscoll, Shailer Kern-Carruth, Camille Moten, Zoë Norris, Caitlin Quinn, Nikki Roberts, Jessica Stos, Tess Stumpf, Whitney Weinstein, and Laura Zimmerman.

MFA Thesis Concert

WHEN:  Friday, March 26th at 7:30pm and Saturday, March 27th at 2:30pm and 7:30pm

WHERE: Conwell Dance Theater, Temple University, (At the corner of N Broad and Montgomery), Philadelphia, PA

TICKETS: $20 general admission / $15 students and senior citizens / $10 for Dance Professionals / $5 for students with OWLcard. Tickets available at www.liacourascenter.com or 800.298.4200, or in person, Cash-only at the Liacouras Center Box Office, 1776 North Broad Street, Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.

Photo: Thomas Bethell; Pictured (from left): Angela Sigley, Jessica Warchal-King, and Laura Zimmerman

ARTISTS

Angela Sigley, choreographer and performer, is completing her Master’s degree in dance performance and choreography at Temple University.  A native of the Lehigh Valley, Angela received her Bachelor’s degree in dance and music from DeSales University and has taught throughout the area at local high schools and studios.  Angela’s choreography has been shown in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival with the Stray Cats and Wayward Bats, and she has performed for Chris Elam, Lisa Kraus, Seán Curran, and Dan Joyce, among others.   As an adjunct faculty member at Temple, she is able to continue her love of teaching while pursuing opportunities to choreograph and perform.

Jessica C. Warchal-King’s work and performance has been described as “clever, precisely choreographed” by Christopher Atamian of the Village Voice. Jessica has performed and presented choreography throughout the mid-Atlantic region. A magna cum laude graduate of Muhlenberg College, Jessica will receive her MFA in Dance at Temple University in May, 2010. Jessica is a member of the Nora Gibson Performance Project and an apprentice with Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers. She has also performed for nationally and regionally recognized independent choreographers including Lisa Kraus, Tiffany Mills, Deana DeHart, Pat Catterson, Danny Buraczewski, Jacques d’Amboise, and Nicholas Leichter. In addition to performance and choreography, Jessica is a dance advocate through education. She is the curator and co-founder of the InHale Performance Series at the Chi Movement Arts Center, home of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers. InHale is a community initiative that presents the work of emerging and established artists in the greater Philadelphia area.

Laura Zimmerman is a multi-disciplinary modern dance choreographer, videographer, photographer, and sound designer currently working in Philadelphia, PA, and will complete her MFA in dance choreography and performance from Temple University this May.  Originally from Stevens Point, WI, Laura holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in dance and education.  Laura has choreographed over 15 stage works, which have been presented at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, the Overture Center for the Arts, Temple University, and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival as a member of the Stray Cats Dance Collective.  As a video dance artist Laura’s work has been presented at the Festival of Interarts and Technology, the Overture Center for the Arts, Temple University, the Philadelphia Dance Projects Motion Pictures Dance on Film Festival, Pregones Theater, and Crane Arts.  As a performer Laura has had the pleasure of working with Larry Keigwin, Marlene Skog, Merián Soto, Nina Watt, and Jin-Wen Yu.  Laura has served as an adjunct faculty member at Temple University and has taught ballet and modern technique within community settings.

One reply on “A question of morality! Temple MFA Thesis Concert”

  1. Hey it looks like great things are still happening at Temple! Congratulations.

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