PHILADELPHIA, PA: KYLD presents LUNA (月)/Dance, Myth, and Nature
Company:
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D)
Returning to the Mandell Theater Stage, KYL/D Presents:
LUNA (月)/Dance, Myth and Nature
March 28-29, 2025
Performance Schedule:
Friday March 28th / 7:30PM Saturday March 29th / 2:30PM* & 7:30PM**
*Q&A after 2:30pm show | **VIP Reception after 7:30pm show
The Mandell Theater at Drexel University: 3220 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tickets: $75 VIP Reception / $45 General / $25 Students (Discounts for groups)
Reservations: kyld.org/2025
PHILADELPHIA – one of the country’s premier Asian-American contemporary dance companies, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D), announces its 27th Home Season, LUNA (月)/Dance, Myth and Nature, at the Mandell Theater on Friday, March 28th and Saturday, March 29th.
LUNA (月) invites audiences on a luminous journey through a series of original danceworks that explore the moon as a symbol of connection, reflection, and transformation. From ancient mythology to the natural rhythms of the tides, LUNA (月) weaves together diverse cultural perspectives and artistic visions. Kun-Yang Lin’s Black Moon (World Premiere) with original music by Singapore composer Dayn Ng, draws inspiration from the Chinese tale of the Moon Goddess; exploring themes of history, myth, and the unseen forces shaping our lives. Weiwei Ma’s new work, Moon • Tide (World Premiere), with original music by Chinese composer Jingzhe Wang, channels the evocative imagery of Tang Dynasty poetry to reflect the shared solace of gazing at the same moon across distances. Evalina Carbonell’s solo, Stihia (World Premiere), uses the light of the Blood Moon as a backdrop for a serpentine exploration of femininity and regeneration. These world premieres are paired with Lin’s iconic works CHI (2001) and Moon Dance (1993), offering a radiant blend of tai chi, calligraphy-inspired movement, and dynamic physicality. This year’s performances promise to immerse audiences in the moon’s timeless allure and its enduring presence in human imagination.
SPECIAL EVENT
Interested fans can get a behind the scenes look into the creative process: On Saturday, March 1st @2:30pm-4pm, KYL/D will host its Open Studio at its dance center (1316 S. 9th St. Phila, PA 19147). More information available at: kyld.org/open-studio.
KYL/D Ensemble: Weiwei Ma, Keila Pérez-Vega, Takashi Kanai, Kendall Niblett, Abby Donnenfeld, Angelica Nieves-Merced, Justin Viernes, and Karen Kao
SEASON DEDICATION
KYL/D’s 24-25 Season honors KYLD former dance artists/choreographer, Evalina Carbonell
ABOUT KUN-YANG LIN/DANCERS (KYL/D)
Hailed for its superbly trained dancers and inventive choreography, the internationally-active KYL/D probes at the limits of national identity. The company has performed around the world, including at the Tanzmesse International Dance Festival (Dusseldorf), Busan International Dance Festival (Korea), Jogia International and AsiaTri festivals (Indonesia), Festival Internacional de Danza in Queretaro (Mexico), Victoria Theatre (Singapore) and HsinChu Performing Arts Center (Taiwan). In the U.S., KYL/D has performed at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, Interlochen Festival, Columbia Festival, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out, the Painted Bride Art Center, The Egg, PennLive Arts, the Kimmel Center, the Forrest Theater, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes Foundation and Philadelphia's City Hall. KYL/D has been supported by numerous funders including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the William Penn Foundation, MidAtlantic Arts Foundation as well as support from the U.S. Department of State.
CHOREOGRAPHERS
KUN-YANG LIN is the founding Artistic Director of KYL/D & Co-founder of KYL/D’s CHI Movement Arts Center in Philadelphia. Lin has received numerous awards in his native Taiwan and has been widely recognized in the U.S. for both his dancing and choreography. Lin’s devotion to artistic excellence, movement research, education and community building inspired him to found CHI Movement Arts Center (CHI MAC), described by former Governor Ed Rendell as “a place where the entire Philadelphia community can experience the art of multicultural creative dance expression.” In 2009, Lin was named an “Artist of the City'' for his outstanding contributions to the arts and culture of Philadelphia by the Painted Bride Art Center. In 2010, the Mayor of Hsin-Chu, Lin’s hometown, honored him as a “Son of the City'' for his cultivation of artistic excellence at the international level and in 2011, he was named a “Creative Connector'' through a nomination process coordinated by Leadership Philadelphia. In 2017, Lin was also selected by NBC News as one of 30 LGBTQ+ “changemakers, innovators and rising stars” for its inaugural Pride Month list of leaders nationwide. Lin’s choreography, described as “deeply spiritual, remarkable” (Dance Magazine), has been presented throughout the U.S. as well as in Asia, London, Vienna and Mexico. Lin’s choreography has been commissioned by numerous companies including Dance Ensemble Singapore, Ballet Nacional de México, Ballet Philippines and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. Highly sought as a teacher, Lin is regularly invited to offer masterclasses throughout the U.S. and abroad. From 2003-2022, Lin served as a full professor at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in Philadelphia. His work is currently performed in Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines.
EVALINA CARBONELL: Evalina “Wally” Carbonell is an independent creator and Dance Artist based in Philadelphia. She received her early training at the National Ballet School in MD and went on to earn her BFA in Dance from Florida State University. Upon graduation, she danced for six seasons as a principal artist with Roxey Ballet Company. In 2012, Evalina joined Kun-Yang Lin Dancers (KYL/D) where she spent the last twelve years as a dance artist, and in recent years took on the roles of an in-house choreographer and curator of the Inhale Performance Series. As a creator, she has produced 8 shows of her own work for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, received the Ellen Forman Award for choreography in 2017, funding from Small but Mighty Arts in 2018, and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2022 for her choreography on KYL/D. The summer of 2024 marked her first overseas production of her work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In addition to choreographing nationally and locally, Evalina is a teacher of dance, GYROKINESIS® and GYROTONIC® and the mother of two young children. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Dance at Bennington College's Low-Residency program and is pleased to be a Guest Artist, Choreographer, and Honoree for KYL/D's 2025 Spring Home Season.
WEIWEI MA: Weiwei Ma is a Chinese dancer, teacher, and choreographer who started professional Chinese dance training at age eleven. She studied choreography at The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Arts where she graduated with a BFA degree. Before coming to Philadelphia, Weiwei taught Chinese classical dance and choreography at Beijing Contemporary Music Academy. She graduated with her MFA degree from Temple University in 2016. Weiwei’s work has been presented at the 2016 ACDFA conference in Brockport, NY and at KYL/D’s Fall Season. In 2022, Weiwei was selected as the DanceVisions Residence Artist by the Performance Garage. Weiwei joined KYL/D as a dance artist in 2013. She is the lead Chinese dancer for KYL/D’s cultural programs, and has been a commissioned choreographer for KYL/D since 2018.
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"...evocative performance that drew audience members into a physical and primal world, but one which also hearkened to a very human spirituality and sense of unity." -- Knight Foundation
"...Lin's works are artistic adventures that captivate on many levels… if you let yourself go with his flow, you don't just watch it - you feel it, too." -- Philadelphia City Paper
"Masterful…exudes a spirituality that's matchless in the local dance scene." -- Broad Street Review
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