by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal
On Friday, April 17th, Jessica Warchal King and Brandi Ou, who met during their time with Kun Yang Lin Dancers, will premiere Unveiled at the Performance Garage. The split bill will feature one work by each choreographer, underpinned by a common theme of difficult transitions.
“I’m not sure why,” King explains, “but for whatever reason, we are both at transition points in our life and separately we found ourselves creating work, diving into the creative process.” She and Ou were both showcasing their work in various venues, ranging from InHale and the ETC Performance Series to the Koresh Artist Showcase and the Koresh, Lehigh Valley Spring Up Festival. The decision to present Unveiled came about when Ou said, “Wait, we should really, really, really share this. We are not the only women going through transitions. Let’s just show this to the world.”
Since then, they’ve received a series of “little signs from the universe” confirming that they’d made the right choice: an available venue, a successful Hatchfund campaign, and overwhelming support from family and friends.
So what are these transitions? For King, it’s about asking the tough questions.
“The process of the work I’m showing, (in)visible veins, has forced me into some difficult places. How do I value the concert dance world? What does “concert dance” mean in 2015? What is my role as an educator and artist? […] How and can I be honest with myself when I don’t want to answer or admit to difficult questions of aesthetic, values, community, time, dance, art-making, and real-life-responsibility – especially when these questions tug at the veins of my being. When do I structure and when do I let go – in composition and in life?”
She takes inspiration from the lowly horseshoe crab. “These creatures have existed in time and space unchanged for 4 million years. They’re an important part of the ecosystem but they often go unnoticed.” As a dancer, educator, choreographer and teaching artist, King is often frustrated by what she perceives as her own invisibility and the collective invisibility of dance in general. “In our society, we tend to value individuals over community, and institutions over community, even one academic program over the arts.”
Her work will feature five local dancers that represent “the diversity of female experience in Philadelphia: different ages, backgrounds, techniques and environments.” She admits that she hasn’t found all of the answers but that she has rediscovered the value of “doing the work: creative research, education, artistic research, building things and creating joy.”
Ou’s work, All Who Wander Are Not Lost, comes from equally harrowing origins. “About 7-8 months ago,” she explains, “my husband Vuthy told me he loved me but wasn’t in love with me and never was. Since then it’s been a crazy roller coaster of emotions. We stayed together and had counseling and worked on our own self discoveries as well. We are now currently happier than ever and have both found ourselves through our own self acceptance as well as see each other in a totally different light. I couldn’t be happier at this point, though it was a really tough transition and very painful, as you will see in the choreography.”
She asked her dancers to create a few of their own short phrases, taking words such as “grief, “denial,” “empty spaces” and “freedom” as their departure points. She found that this allowed them to “move in an honest and authentic way throughout the work.”
“As a dancer,” she notes, “You always struggle with what you look like. Are you strong enough? Fit enough? Is your technique good enough? We both know that we’re not the best dancers in the world but we have something more to offer. It’s not about the pointing of your feet or getting your let up but rather sharing something real, honest, something that makes you think instead of just saying, ‘Oh, she fell out of her turn.'”
UNVEILED
Friday, April 17, 2015 at 8pm
The Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street, Philadelphia
Tickets: $18 general admission; $15 students, seniors, PhiladelphiaDANCE Members
Purchase in advance on Dance Box Office
As a professional dancer, Richter began her apprenticeship with the New Jersey Tap Ensemble at the age of 9 and was promoted to Principal Dancer while still in high school. In 2005, she received a scholarship to Oxford University and returned to the UK in 2009. She holds a BA in Dance and History from Goucher College and an MA in Dance Anthropology from Roehampton University. A proud Philadelphia transplant, she blogs at www.fieldworkinstilettos.com
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