Program To Touch the Earth

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Welcome to To Touch the Earth

Thank you for coming tonight!  The last time Perceptual Motion, Inc. gave a concert in a theater was April 2019.  Covid cancelled our 2020 concert. We are so excited to perform for you tonight!

Nature feeds my soul. Climate change has been coming for decades and only now are people finally beginning to see how incredibly serious it is.  It affects every single living being on the planet.  Can you imagine the world without hearing the songs of birds, or seeing the delicate beauty of butterflies, or breathing crisp, clean air?   According to Aldous Huxley, Consciousness is only possible through change; change is only possible through movement. Tonight we move!

We are fortunate to have speakers from the North Park Village Nature Center open the show.  Their bios are below.

Thank you to Emily, Janis, Mary, Mary Iris, Natalie and Saydi for their hard work and dedication in making this evening possible. I feel blessed to share this journey with them. They come to rehearsals every week, unpaid, for which I am grateful.  Special thanks as well to past PMI dancers Nik LaMaack, Natalja Aicardi and Hannah Ottenfeld for their contributions to The Earth Speaks and The Monarch. The ideas, unique perspectives and talent of the dancers is instrumental in creating the dances we’ll perform for you tonight. And thank you to Margaret Nelson, lighting designer extraordinaire-it’s an honor to work with you.

 Thank you to guest performer Connie Foster, whom you’ll see in “Got Plastic?”. Bio below.

Thanks to The Edge Theater staff Amelia and Caitlin, our box office helpers and The Saints for ushering.

The cost of creating dances, putting on concerts and arts programs and administration is far more than that which is gained through ticket sales and tuition. Funding for the arts and arts in education is an ongoing challenge. Please consider making a donation to help defray the costs of tonight’s performance.

Perceptual Motion Inc. would not be here without the support from the Illinois Arts Council, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the NorthCenter Chamber of Commerce and from individual donors. We deeply appreciate every one of you!

Enjoy the show!

                   Lin Shook

TECHNICAL PERSONNEL

Lighting Design:            Margaret Nelson

Crew: Zach Dreelan and Kieran O’Connor

Postcard/flyer design:  Donna Antkowiak

Video:                              Carl Weideman

Sound edits:                  Mary Iris Loncto

Amaris Alanis Ribeiro has almost twenty years of experience in conservation and environmental education in museums, nonprofits, and outdoor settings including the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Chicago Botanic Garden. Amaris is currently the Center Director of the North Park Village Nature Center. There she directs the operation of a public facility with 46 acres of a nature preserve open 7-days a week, providing year-round programs throughout the year for over 75,000 visitors. Amaris is a leader in monarch conservation and engagement and has presented at the Wild Things conference on monarchs. Last year she participated in the multi-day North American Monarch Institute. Amaris has a bachelor in science degree in Ecology, Ethology, Evolution from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and is completing a master’s degree in science education from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Joel Luciano is originally from Puerto Rico. He moved to Chicago in 2016 to finish his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Environmental Science/Studies at DePaul University. Much of his career has centered around environmental education and experiential learning. My interests and passions are in urban agriculture, environmental justice, and ecology, and nature. He is program facilitator at the North Park Village Nature Center.

Guest Performer, Connie Foster, has been tap dancing since 5…touring theatre at 17…TV hostess at 21…NBC’s Chicago Story (5 episodes)..Chicago Med (2 episodes)…ACE spokeswoman…Unshackled! Actor since ’90…. and started 2 theaters.  

Please join us for conversation and drinks in the lobby immediately after the performance.

Program

To Touch the Earth

Perceptual Motion, Inc. March 31 and April 1, 2023

Choreography: Lin Shook  Lighting: Margaret Nelson

Talk: North Park Village Nature Center

  Friday-Amaris Ribeiro         Saturday- Joel Luciano

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano 

Dancers: Mary Iris Loncto, Saydi Ogden, Emily Pfriem

Music: Afro Celt Soundsystem

Serpents 

Dancers: Mary Heyl, Lin Shook

Music: Brent Lewis

Got Plastic?    

Dancers: Natalie Langmeir, Mary Iris Loncto, Lin Shook Models: Connie Foster, Janis Post, Mary Heyl

Music: Adam Shaikh

5 min pause  

The Monarch   

Dancers: Mary Heyl, Mary Iris Loncto, Saydi Ogden, Emily Pfriem

Props: Lin Shook 

Music: Nils Frohm, Recap and Loscil

Intermission  15 min    

The Earth Speaks 

Dancers: Mary Heyl, Mary Iris Loncto, Saydi Ogden, Emily Pfriem, Lin Shook 

Music: Einaudi, Motion Trio

5 min  Pause 

Time is a River 

Dancers: Natalie Langmeir, Mary Iris Loncto, Janis Post, Lin Shook

Music: Original music by Fred Simon 

When the Stars Dance

Dancers: Natalie Langmeir, Mary Iris Loncto, Saydi Ogden, Janis Post, Lin Shook              

Music: K. Bager

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Individual Donors Donations received September 1, 2022 to March 28, 2023      
Jane Bilger                                Anna Lasley                                       

Ina Burd                                     Maureen Owens

Elaine Collina                            Rochelle Sterline

Bob and Sue Chennel              Wilma Stevens  

Paulette Feeney                       Gary Swanson

Helene Gray                              Ruth Thiede      

Jane Heron                              Terese Yee 

Michael Hora                           Rick & Donna Yule           

Lynn Hyndman                         Shirlene Ward

Christine Jindra                       Bill Webster                      

Anonymous                             Carol Weston

                                                  Jennifer Widmer

Lin has served the dance community for over 25 years as a performer, choreographer and teacher. She has an MA in Dance from American University where she received the Independent Choreographer's award from the Metropolitan Dance Association in Washington, DC. She served on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Dance Coalition for 7 years and founded the Chicago Dance Coalition Newsletter. She has also served on the dance panels of the Illinois Arts Council and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Lin is a Dance Specialist in Chicago area schools through Urban Gateways and Art Start and an Artist-in-Residence for the Illinois Arts Council. She has done extensive writing for the Illinois Arts Alliance for Education, the Chicago Board of Education and the State of Illinois.