Photo by Randl Bye & Melissa Sobel

Dancefusion, a West Philly-based dance company, was founded by Artistic Director Gwendolyn Bye who grew up in Powelton Village. Celebrating 35 years this year, the company will be presenting ENVISIONS at the Philly FringeArts Festival in collaboration with The Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble from New York City.

The program will feature both companies with three performances on September 9 at 7:00 p.m. and September 10 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street in Philadelphia.

Dancefusion will present two pieces by Pauline Koner, a visionary dancer and choreographer. Concertino (1955) is set to music by Unico Wilheim van Wassenaer. The dance, using the flavor of court dances, depicts a Lady and her ladies-in-waiting in three facets of the Lady’s life. The second work is an excerpt from Koner’s monumental solo The Farewell (1962), set to Gustav Mahler’s The Song of the Earth. Dancefusion will add a third innovative, fun work for the company, Forces in G: Ode to a Ball, choreographed by Rachel Kantra Beal to music by J.S. Bach. Continue Reading

Theatre in the X is back at Malcolm X. Park (5100 Pine St.) with the opening of celebrated musical Dreamgirls on Thursday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m.

Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, the musical follows the story of a young female singing trio “The Dreams,” who become music superstars.

The city’s Black theater company will stage four performances this year, including another 7 p.m. show on Aug. 19 and Saturday and Sunday performances (Aug. 20-21) beginning at 5 p.m. Admission, as always, is free. Just bring a chair or a blanket or whatever you want to sit on.

Dreamgirls is based on the Broadway hit by playwright Tom Eyden and composer Henry Krieger first staged in 1981. The play was adapted as 2006 film that starred Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy, and also features Jennifer Hudson and Danny Glover.

West Philly native Ozzie Jones is directing the production and Sanchel Brown is choreographer. Will Brock will provide music direction and original compositions. Continue Reading

University City District (UCD), in partnership with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and Friends of Clark Park, is bringing back a popular summer event – free outdoor movies in Clark Park every Friday night in August! This year, UCD will present four Music Movies, with great music at their center (see the schedule below).

All movies are screened at dusk (after 8 p.m.), in fair weather only (don’t forget to bring your blanket or chair). The event may also be postponed if the ground is too wet. Friday, Sept. 9 has been reserved as a rain date to screen one film.

August 5: Summer of Soul (2021)
August 12: Wayne’s World (1992)
August 19: Soul (2020)
August 26: West Side Story (2021)
September 9: Rain Date

More information is available here.

Artwork by Allison Rich

Shakespeare in Clark Park is set to return this week with The Taming!, a “raucous comedy” presented in two “very different” acts. The new production pairs Shakespeare’s problematic masterpiece, The Taming of the Shrew, with a community-created adaptation of John Fletcher’s Elizabethan revenge play, The Tamer Tamed.

The Taming of the Shrew is directed by Kathryn MacMillan while The Tamer Tamed has been adapted by Charlotte Northeast and is directed by Ang Bey.

The creative team of The Taming! is exploring themes of love, patriarchy, and domestic violence, and will contextualize Shakespeare’s original text from a modern viewpoint and from multiple perspectives. The community members who make up the Active Conscious Chorus in the adaptation of The Tamer Tamed will respond to the text. Continue Reading

Several Philadelphia’s cultural institutions and agencies, including the Academy of Natural Sciences, The Barnes Foundation and WHYY, are offering free summer learning opportunities for children ages 5 and under and their families.

A number of activities and programs have been scheduled at various locations in West Philadelphia through mid-August (for more locations, check out the Summer Pod Brochure 2022):

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Discover, Play, Share: Summer Family Fun

When: July 23 and August 6, 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m.

Where: Mt. Vernon Park, 37th and Mt. Vernon St.

What: Outdoor storytimes, puppet shows, STEAM experiments, music, and movement. Take-home learn-and-play kits and snacks. Continue Reading

The Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival is returning Saturday, July 16 live and in-person! The 2022 Festival will be held at Saunders Park Greene (39th & Powelton) from Noon-7 p.m. and promises to be the best one yet.

The all-day event, which celebrates West Philadelphia and jazz musicians, is free and open to the public. It is organized by People’s Emergency Center (PEC), The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and a committee of community members, with technical assistance from Nu Millennium Media Productions.

The headliner this year is the Orrin Evans Quartet, performing from the TD Bank Main Stage. The Quartet is led by none other than pianist, composer, and independent recording artist Orrin Evans, gracing the Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival stage for the first time. Continue Reading