The 40th St Community Arts Collective (COAC) is committed to the proposition that the arts can profoundly change and enrich our community. With 40th Street as our symbolic center, we are a collective of local artists, arts organizations, arts educators, arts venues, arts businesses, and other organizations that recognize that the arts are a necessary part of a creative and healthy neighborhood and economy. We work collaboratively to effect change while maintaining the diversity of our neighborhood. This organization was formally a group within the Friends of 40th Street until the size and goals grew, at which point it made the most sense to create our own organization. For more information about COAC, please visit www.artscollective.org.

 

ANNE-MARIE MULGREW AND DANCERS CO (AMM & DCO). Known in Philadelphia since 1986 for its "visually arresting," "highly imaginative," dance theater works, and unusual collaborative projects AMM & DCO has performed over 48 major works choreographed by Anne-Marie Mulgrew in 250 performances, and has conducted more than 57 residency programs primarily for underserved populations and 2,500 classes/workshops.

At this event, The Umbrella Ladies will perform "Dances for Imaginary Places Barely There," a site-specific dance-video performance event tailored to the natural beauty and architecture of a specific location. Performed by seven women dressed in white and carrying white umbrellas filmed by roaming videographers, this live-installation travels slowly and silently, bringing attention to area landmarks. The work is built on a walking score accented by a series of movement tableaus, intimate gestures and choreographed phrases. The Umbrella Ladies will start the piece leaving from The Rotunda (4014 Walnut), interacting with landmarks along the way to the field, and then using the field as their final landmark. www.annemariemulgrewdancersco.org

 

UNDERGROUND DANCEWORKS (UDW) was established to bridge the social, cultural, racial, sexual and gender gaps of our American society. The troupe performs in the EclectiFunk style, which, is an original dance style/technique based on the vocabulary and choreography of Charles Tyson, Jr (Artists Director). It encompasses modern, jazz, ballet, African dance, hip hop, vogue, and several other theatrical styles of performance. Major performances include: "Do Drop In" (2002) co produced with Jaye Allison's New LEJA Dances The Company, "Dedication: Three In Tandem Dance" (2003) co produced with Dancefusion and New LEJA Dances The Company, "Tha' Freekz Sho'" (2003) Bumpin' Big Top [World Premiere], "Hmmm...Aaah...Ooh!!" (2004) [World Premiere], "???" (2005) Premiered at Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and "?uestions" premiered at Philly Fringe Festival '06. www.myspace.com/eclectifunk

 

THE WEST PHILADELPIHA ORCHESTRA, formerly Debalkery, began just months ago when drummer Gregg Mervine decided that Philadelphia needed a Balkan music band like the ones he was playing with in NY, like Romashka. So, he called friends, pro jazz musicians and amateurs alike, told everyone about his plans, and thus met some new people, and soon invited all these folks to jam on his West Philly porch. Now that Gregg has found the right people, the party has begun. The band plays mostly Gypsy tunes from the Balkans, inspired by musicians like Taraf de Haidouks, the Kocani Orkestar, Toni Iordachi, Romica Puceanu, Ansambl Bakij Bakica, the Etrapole Brass Band, Goran Bregovic, and Balkan music friends in NY. www.myspace.com/westphiladelphiarorchestra

 

THE MONKEY KING. Mr. Xin Li was born in Beijing, China, in 1978 and raised in a professional family whose members formed the Peking Opera. He started his education, with his famous grandfather Mr. Wan Chun Ki, at the age of three, in the Peking Opera and made his first public appearance at the age of six, playing the role of the little monkey king in “Nao Tian Gong.” In 1998, he entered the Chinese Peking Opera Group and became a main performer. The legendary shows he has appeared in include, “Nao Tian Gong,” “San Cha Kou,” “Ye Zhu Lin,” “Fired Pei Yuan Qing,” and numerous others. He has been invited to perform in France, Greece, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to name a few. He came to the United States in 2003, and is currently employed by the Philadelphia Peking Opera Association, and is also connected to the new Chinese Language and Culture initiative at University City Arts League. His role as the ‘Monkey King” in the performance of “Nao Tian Gong” is an American audience favorite.

 

JUNCTION DANCE THEATER's (JDT) mission is to create and perform innovative interdisciplinary performance works, including site-specific and portable performances, which integrate contemporary dance, theater, text, original and live music, mobile installation art, and film. JDT’s concept-driven work is a multimedia narrative about real and imagined life interpreted by JDT artists and participants in our interactive residency and performance programs. Their intelligent and playful performances transform theaters, storefronts, supermarkets and more into arenas of innovation and surprise. Refreshingly original performances explore the complexity of human experiences with “delicious character studies” and a "bold sense of humor.” JDT’s Body Blog is a kinesthetic community diary. Posted as an interactive blog site at http://body-blog.blogspot.com, this new project furthers JDT’s mission to make dance an integral medium within our community by bringing dance to new audiences via the Internet and performances in the public realm. Body Blogs are honest movement responses to our lives and the world we experience. Anyone can participate.

www.junctiondancetheatre.org

 

UNIDOS DA FILADELFIA (Philadelphia United) is a community-based samba school, or Escola De Samba, founded in 2005 and modeled after the Carnaval parade organizations of Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia in Brazil. Mike Stevens, a talented percussionist who has been performing in various groups around Philadelphia for several years, started the ensemble to further education about Brazil and its rich culture. Unidos has many wonderful members, some of whom have other groups and/or projects that both expand on and reflect the rich multicultural heritage of Philadelphia by offering a wide array of World Beat music. The school's mission is to spread the joy and excitement of Brazilian percussion through music education and performance. Members of the school have the opportunity to play the traditional percussion instruments and learn the rhythmic styles of Brazilian Carnaval, and to perform at various community events.

www.unidosphilly.org