FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2023
CELEBRATE SPRING AND THE ARTS
WITH A FREE SHOWCASE IN WEST PHILLY
Poet-tree En Motion Returns on May 24 to The Rotunda
with Multidisciplinary Arts and Cultural Presentations
WEST PHILADELPHIA – The arts are aflame once again and everyone is welcome to join for free from 7-10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24 when Poet-tree En Motion returns to The Rotunda in West Philadelphia.
This season’s multidisciplinary arts showcase, titled “In Celebration of the Rites of Spring,” will feature live Afro-Brazilian music, spoken-word poetry, theatrical dance, movement meditations, DJ’ed dance beats, “hippie-punk music,” live painting, and a fire arts performance.
Every Poet-tree En Motion event (now in its 16th year) welcomes the active participation from the audience whether it is to dance, to move in healing meditation, to engage in call-and-response chant, or in other ways.
“The whole thing is a ritual: the coming together of the performers and the audience,” says artistic director Gabrielle de Burke. “I am down with everyone participating the way they feel. Throughout all of the events, there is an engagement in the community.”
The culmination of the event on May 24 will feature a world music performance inside The Rotunda that will then lead the audience on a percussive procession to the outdoor performance space. There, the audience will behold the fire and flow arts finale set to the soundscapes of DJ’ed vibrations.
The Poet-tree En Motion is supported by grants from the University of Pennsylvania. Admission is free. Donations are suggested to benefit Lakota People's Law Project and Survival International. Tips for the artists are also welcome.
For information about Poet-tree En Motion, email plumdragoness@gmail.com. To be updated about the seasonal events, join the Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/116980678334215.
ABOUT POET-TREE EN MOTION:
Poet-tree En Motion works to inspire both artist and audience to connect and work together toward cultivating the arts community in Philadelphia, welcoming artists of all kinds to experience performances local to the neighborhood, and offering the opportunity at each show for community participation to sign up in the all-genre open mike/stage and jam session component of the events.
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Plum Dragoness / aka Gabrielle de Burke
@plumdragoness @dragonspiritarts @authentic.eccentrics
Lyrical poetess, emcee, theatrical dancer, event host, resident artist, cultural producer, mindful-movement facilitator, arts educator and creator
Zara Tagnac @ztlovestoread
A Jamaican-American poet and author who writes in the styles of primarily slipstream and magical realism. She will perform two interactive poems.
Line On Some Trip (L.O.S.T.) @line.on.some.trip
Hippie-punk music featuring quirky songs that tackle serious topics, including mental illness, family relations, capitalism, misogyny, racism and the fragility of life. She conveys her message through instinctual guitar playing and a voice that transforms from sweet and childlike to powerfully enraged in a blink of an eye.
Xande Cruz @xandecruzmusic
A percussionist and singer-songwriter who plays traditional Afro-Brazilian music with a modern twist. His world music unites funk guitars, bass, drums, horns, samples and lyrical vocals. The resulting unique sound is as soulful as it is joyful.
B.A.D. Blaze @b.a.d._blaze_philly
A Philadelphia-based fire troupe melding their flow arts stories through movement and fire dancing that sets the stage ablaze with a variety of props and acrobatics set to danceable and digable DJ beats.
Big Cuz @mostsleptonradio
Big Cuz is a DJ, emcee, host, event planner, and program director of 98.5 FM (Uptown Radio) since 2018 in Philadelphia.
Angi Vita @playabodyart
Philadelphia-based professional face and body painter who also creates live paintings
FOR EVENT LISTINGS:
Poet-tree En Motion: “In Celebration of the Rites of Spring,” multidisciplinary performing arts showcase 7-10 p.m. Wednesday, May 24 at The Rotunda, located at 4014 Walnut St. in West Philadelphia. Doors open at 7 pm. The community arts event will feature live Afro-Brazilian music, spoken-word poetry, theatrical dance, movement meditations, “hippie-punk” music, live painting, Dj’ed dance beats, and a fire arts performance. The event is free. Donations will benefit Lakota People's Law Project and Survival International. For information, email plumdragoness@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/groups/116980678334215 and www.therotunda.com.
CAPTIONS:
Plum Dragoness Pics:
Poet-tree En Motion artistic director Gabrielle de Burke (stage name Plum Dragoness) performs theatrical dance combined with spoken-word poetry and movement meditation.
Zara Tagnac Pics:
Zara Tagnac is a Jamaican-American poet and author who writes in the styles of primarily slipstream and magical realism. She will perform two interactive poems.
Line On Some Trip (L.O.S.T.) Pic:
Hippie-Punk musician and artist Line El Dirini will perform quirky songs that tackle serious topics such as mental illness, complex family relations, the effects of capitalism, misogyny and racism on society, and the acceptance of the fragility of life.
Xande Cruz Pics:
Xande Cruz is a percussionist, songwriter and performer of Brazilian roots who will perform world fusion music during the next Poet-tree en Motion on May 24 at The Rotunda in West Philly.
B.A.D. Blaze Pics:
Ambra:
Ambra Renee is a Philly-based fire and flow artist who will blow you away with her sexy fire fans skills and more when her troupe B.A.D. Blaze performs at the next Poet-tree En Motion on May 24 at The Rotunda in West Philly.
Dafna:
DAFNA is a trained ballet and modern dancer who also performs with fire fans, a fire hoola hoop and more. Catch her be amazing with her fire arts troupe B.A.D. Blaze when they perform at Poet-tree en Motion on May 24 at The Rotunda in West Philly.
Bryce:
Bryce Adams is a professional breakdancer, acrobat, Parkour athlete, and fire perform who will dazzle during the fire arts performance with B.A.D. Blaze at the next Poet-tree en Motion event May 24 at The Rotunda in West Philly.
DJ Big Cuz Pics:
DJ Big Cuz will entertain the crowd with his DJ’ed beats during he fire arts performance at the next Poet-tree En Motion event May 24 at The Rotunda in West Philly.
Angi Vita Pics:
Artist Angi Vita is an artist and face painter who will provide stunning original work during the Poet-tree En Motion event.
ARTIST BIOS:
PLUM DRAGONESS
Native to West Philadelphia, Plum Dragoness (a.k.a. Gabrielle de Burke) is a multi-talented thespian, dancer, martial artist, instructor, poetess, and writer who has been involved with performing arts since childhood. She is known for her poetic style, vocal performance, fire dance, flow arts, and choreographic flair throughout Philadelphia and abroad.
Over the past 17 years, she has toured as a solo artist, founding member/core performer/assistant artistic director of Archedream for HumanKind among many others. She has independently released two albums of original work with the project Plum Dragoness & the Elements, known for its fusion of multimedia, live world-beat musical infusions, spoken-word vocals, and lyrical poetry. She has also helped bring together the all-female performance group trio The Femme-Mynistiques, who released their debut EP “Here She Comes…” in the summer of 2016.
Since 2007, Plum Dragoness has been a resident performance artist, as well as host and organizer for the successful performing arts series Poet-tree En Motion. This has allowed her the opportunity to share her own creative performances (including collaborative projects she initiated) and work created by many unique artists within the West Philadelphia community and beyond.
Her work as a healing arts practitioner and instructor continues to intersect with her work as an interdisciplinary performance artist through the incorporation of internal and martial arts forms in combination with dance, poetry, and theater presentation. She has been teaching in the Philadelphia area and abroad since 2000.
On Instagram: @plumdragoness @dragonspiritarts @authentic.eccentrics
ZARA TAGNAC
Zara Tagnac is a Jamaican-American poet and author of primarily slipstream and magical realism. Her prose has been published by Writer’s Retreat UK and Sketel Magazine (Jamaica). Her poetry has been published twice by Wildfire Words (UK), in three collections published by Paper Pens, & Poetry (India), and Black Quantum Futurism (U.S.). Her first poetry chapbook, "Through the Ether," will be available soon.
On Instagram: @ztlovestoread
LINE ON SOME TRIP (L.O.S.T.)
Is the project of Philly-based hippie-punk musician and artist Line El Dirini. Line's quirky songs tackle serious topics such as mental illness, complex family relations, the effects of capitalism, misogyny and racism on society, and the acceptance of the fragility of life. She conveys her message through instinctual guitar playing and a voice that transforms from sweet and childlike to powerfully enraged in a blink of an eye.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Paris, Line (pronounced Lean) grew up in a Syrian-Palestinian immigrant household. From 2006 to 2014, she travelled across Europe and lived in England, Italy, Scotland and Hungary where she found many human and artistic inspirations before setting roots in NYC and founded the curatorial project “Bushwick Underground Music & Arts.”
Line moved to Philadelphia in 2019. There she started The West Philly Open Mic in the summer of 2020, a spring-summer weekly eclectic outdoor gathering that emerged during the pandemic as a solution for community members to share creatively in a safe environment.
In early 2022, she started a four-piece band called “Line & the Lost boys” with Jacob Frank on drums, Sam Sander-Effron on trombone and Nicholas Anzivino on bass.
Line released the album “Walkin' a forgotten path” in October 2022, which gather songs written over the course of 13 years. Home-recorded during the years of the pandemic, this album intends to help people struggling with depression and anxiety.
On Instagram: @line.on.some.trip
XANDE CRUZ
A percussionist, songwriter and performer born and raised in the Butantan neighborhood of São Paulo, Brazil during the Military Dictatorships of the 1960s-1980s. His deep concern for justice stems from exposure to social injustice and racial discrimination as a child. Lack of opportunity, inflation, and an adventurous spirit led him to move to NYC in the early '90s. It was in New York that he developed his passion for creating music. He writes songs that reflect the love for his native Brazilian roots, creating music that blends urban and traditional sounds to ignite passion. When writing and performing he envisions colors and sounds as a way to convey the love of music to the audience.
On Instagram: @xandecruzmusic
B.A.D. BLAZE -- Fire Arts Troupe
Instagram: @b.a.d._blaze_philly
Ambra Robinson, aka Ambra Renee, is a Philly-based fire performer. Her journey with fire spinning began in 2017 after performing with Setu Tribe in the great circle at “the big burn.” Inspired by her Setu sisters and the PEX community, she continues to tell her stories through movement and fire dancing. Her favorite prop is fire fans.
Ambra is also a radio co-host on 98.5 FM’s “Uptown Date Night.” When she’s not spinning fire, Ambra enjoys experimenting with flow props while roller skating.
On Instagram: @ambra_luv
Dafna Cohen, aka DAFNA, is a trained ballet and modern dancer who has found her way back to dance through hoola hooping and skating. She has performed with Philly Fire Jawn at the big burn, PEX parties, the Ghostly Circus, and many private parties on her skates with LED hoops, fire hoop, and fire fans. When not delighting audiences, she is a physical therapist and mom to three boys.
On Instagram: @cohen_dafna
Bryce Adams, aka Bryce is Nice, is a professional break-dancer, acrobatics coach, flow artist, and fire performer. He has been practicing his art for over 10 years. He is also a professional Parkour athlete and all-around entertainer that will dazzle you with his backflips.
On Instagram: @bryceiznyce
DJ BIG CUZ
Big Cuz is the program director of 98.5 FM (Uptown Radio) since 2018 in Philadelphia, the eighth biggest radio market in the United States.
Working with a small group of motivated individuals, 98.5 FM has grown from one weekly show to 30 original programs and a shining beacon for North Philadelphia.
Michael started off in the music business in 2002 as an emcee. Then he became a host, an event planner, and now a DJ. Since 2006, Michael has been working with Philadelphia At Risk Youth professionally as a social worker. Michael’s work specialized in transitioning youth out of the system and into successful roles as adults.
Michael is the founding member of the Philadelphia Freedom Project 501c3, which teaches leadership training through community service. Michael created Most Slept On Radio, a FM radio brand devoted to showcasing local and worldwide independent talent. Michael created Travel Gang International, a travel brand that encourages people to travel outside their comfort zone. Travel Gang Intl has partnered with groups in Puerto Rico to assist with hurricane relief efforts.
On Instagram: @mostsleptonradio
ANGI VITA
Angi Vita creates art that shifts as you walk around it. She wants viewers to sense the subjective nature of her work in person. The figure paintings are never just one image and all perceptions are correct. The use of texture with various levels of sheen to form her visual art almost always consists of a serene disposition. She often portrays a juxtaposition of stillness and a strong emotional pull with the intention of portraying what most of us can’t put into words.
On Instagram: @playabodyart
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