Catholic Christians light the pink candle on their Advent Wreath this week. The Catholic Christian Advent Wreath has four candles - each symbolizing one week of anticipation of Christmas. The pink candle represents that this period of waiting, reflection, and preparation is almost over.

Time is an important concept during this season for many religions.

• Christians observe Advent in expectation of the Christmas celebration.
• Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, lasts for eight days.
• Mawlid el-Nabi (Milad un Nabi) commemorates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad in Islam
• The Winter Solstice has the shortest period of daylight.

Each of these holidays provide the observers with an opportunity for reflection, contemplation, and digging into their (our) own understandings of truth and mystery.

Similarly, this time during the choreographic process is a time for going deeper. Choreographically, the structure for Faith Project is set. During this time, and in the coming weeks, the dance artists and Kun-Yang will use the rehearsals and showings for reflection, contemplation, and a deeper awareness of the truth and mystery this project is revealing. Time is necessary. (Be a part of this process and reserve your tickets for the Open Studio Series.)

Time – in calendar duration – is important to Kun-Yang’s process. Sometimes, it might seem to an outside observer that each rehearsal is a repetition of the previous; but like Kimerer reflected in “Why Practice Repeating Ordinary Bodily Movements”, the repetition of the full work allows the dance artist/s the... 

“ability both to feel things he has not felt before and to move in ways that express this sensory awareness. He learns, in the smallest of moments, to make visible the complexity of his presence.”

In short, Kun-Yang and the dance artists will learn more about the Truth of Faith Project in the coming rehearsals and showings. Time is necessary.

This time is vital to Kun-Yang’s creative research. Anecdotally, I’m reminded of the process of Home/ S 9th St. We presented an evening-length performance in January 2015 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Through Kun-Yang’s in-depth rehearsal process, the evening changed and developed as we, the dance artists, grew in our understanding and relationship to the work. After the world premiere at FringeArts in November 2015, one long-time audience member approached me. He had seen Home in various iterations throughout the year: at PMA, in May at Deconstructing Home, in August at the Koresh Come Together Festival, and finally at FringeArts. “Everytime it’s been so different!” he observed, “Was it the music or the movement that changed?”

“A few things are different from the January performance but honestly,” I reflected, “it was our awareness of the intention that changed and developed. Just as you, the audience, took a journey through the evening of the work, we took a many-months long journey of reflection and embodiment.”

This is part of KYL/D’s CHI Awareness Practice.

As we move through our respective holidays and the approach of a New Year, I invite you to take time to:

• Reflect on and in light, truth, and mystery.
• Share stories.
• Articulate your truth in speech and through embodied action.
• Develop your community.
• Breathe.

Report back… I’ll be waiting!

~ Jessica Warchal-King

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Major support for the Faith project has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.