Presented by the Philadelphia Contact Collective

Friday, May 21, 7:30- 11 p.m.

7:30: PCC Dancers will show individual new works
(feat: improvisation, modern choreography, video dance, and live music)!

8:30: Join us for a round of “Truth or Dance?” our very own (high school
slumber party-inspired) improv game

9:30-11:00: Dance party + Snacks (pizza, s’mores, etc)

Suggested donation: $5-15

By the way, here's our class schedule for May 2010

Friday, May 14, 8 p.m.

By the way, here's our class schedule for December 2009

Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m.

We have a lot planned for this month’s Feet Active!

7pm sharp – Samba drumming class! Michael Stevens who leads regular samba classes in West Philly will guide this class suitable for beginners.

8:45 - Performance by Unidos da Filadelfia (Philadelphia United), a community-based samba school. They played at the Studio 34 anniversary party a few months ago and were amazing. (link below)

9:30 – Dance Party! Ginkgo! Ross of Love!

Midnight – Yoga led by Brittany who teaches at Studio 34. With live DJ. All levels welcome. Candlelight.

Vegan Cupcakes – Autumnly winterly deliciousness.

$5-10 or pay what you can

By the way, here's our class schedule for November 2009

West Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates 3 years!

Sunday, November 1, 7:30 – 11 p.m.

West Philadelphia Orchestra is celebrating their third anniversary of merrymaking and bootyshaking by throwing a high-energy dance party for the West Philly community. Hooray! It’s not in a bar, doesn’t start at 11 pm, and it’s in the neighborhood. The band will play some traditional music from Eastern Europe, as well as their original compositions that meld world rhythms, jazz, and Philly soul in one joyful sound. Bring family, friends, foods, drinks, and dancing shoes. $5 donation.

More info: www.westphiladelphiaorchestra.com and on MySpace

By the way, here's our class schedule for October 2009

Friday, October 23, doors at 8 p.m.

Promising to be a night to remember, The Great Unknown, an original band from West Philadelphia will release their new album, “Tonight, Let’s Pretend” at Studio 34′s big beautiful space on Baltimore avenue. Expect live music and DJ sets. Expect good people. Expect special guests. The new album will be played as well as brand new songs.

Doors will open at 8 pm with a variety of acts leading up to The Great Unknown set at 10:30. Get there early. Stay late. $12 admission (10$ presale); $20 includes new CD. To reserve your ticket, please email thegreatunknownband@gmail.com.

About the Album:
“Tonight, Let’s Pretend” is a major step for The Great Unknown, which has been harnessing its sound for three years in Philadelphia and beyond, playing local venues such as Johnny Brenda’s and World Cafe Live and touring throughout the south and northeast. Recorded in Millville, New Jersey to 3/4″ tape, the album catches the energetic live sound of the band while allowing for some studio experimentation and textures that add to the listening experience. The Great Unknown are “more concerned with crafting a song than cranking their amps and blasting through a batch of disposable booze tunes (Independent Weekly, Chapel Hill, NC) ,” and this record showcases that crafting in a cohesive, complete album that grows with each listen.

“I Can See Forever Up Here” starts the album with a twin electric guitar riff and a chorus that begs to be repeated for days. “Self-Portraits”, a song about legendary Philadelphia artist Isaiah Zagar, allows the band to stretch out, and is followed by the catchy “I’m Not Listening”, which was featured in Paste Magazine’s audio sampler last winter and can be heard on WXPN radio in Philadelphia. “Young Military Wives” features the saw and fiddle of the Wissahickon Chicken Shack’s Phil D’Agostino and Kiley Ryan, respectively, adding a combination of weariness and honky-tonk to the wartime song. The live anthem “We’ve Got Secrets” is augmented by soaring horns and a dinner party full of friends. The West Philadelphia Orchestra’s Jack Ohly lends his upright bass work to “Shrapnel” while the rest of the band offers it’s most subtle playing. “Votre Notra Dom” offers a changeup and features the keyboard work of EJ Simpson. The coupling of “Over and Over” and “Tonight, Let’s Pretend” find The Great Unknown seeking out the further regions of the pop song, featuring bowed upright bass and accordion in the former, and a symphony of noise in the title track. A crowd favorite, “The Weasel & The Worm” closes the album on an intimate note, as tape hiss fills the background of this hushed acoustic ballad.

By the way, here's our class schedule for October 2009

Friday, October 2, 7 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Join us for an evening of music, dance, food and fun. ALL proceeds will go toward the purchase of medical equipment for Mbagathi District Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

Suggested donation: $10

About the Hospital:
Mbagathi hospital is 167-bed facility and the only district public hospital in Nairobi Province. The hospital is located on the edge of the Kibera slum, the largest slum in Kenya, and serves an annual average of 73,783 patients. Mbagathi district hospital runs the most important diagnostic center for tuberculosis in Nairobi and operates an HIV/AIDS clinic.

Video of Mbgathi Hospital

Equipment Needed:
This equipment is basic by Western standards with such items often found in each patient room. At the Mbagathi District Hospital, these items are scarce or non-existent.

• pulse oximeter – $50/each: used to monitor patient oxygen levels and for diagnosis of life-threatening AIDS-related infections

• EKG machine – $2000: used for the diagnosis of common emergent conditions, such as heart attacks.

• blood pressure monitor – $35/each

• internet access – $300/year: needed for communication and teleconferencing with medical experts from around the world.

• centrifuge – $450 – needed for preparation of blood and cerebral spinal fluid samples to allow health care providers to evaluate specimens on site and expedite diagnoses.

The Evening Line-up!

7:30pm: Soulful vocals of Fatima Adamu

Fatima is the quintessential example of a modern-day Renaissance woman. In addition to holding a degree in Geography and Urban Studies from Temple, Fatima is a poet, model, actress, singer, fashion designer, dancer and painter.

8:30pm: African Dance performance with Anssumane Silla’, Nikki Brake-Silla’ and ensemble with live drummining. Followed by a African Dance lesson!

Anssumane began his dancing career at the tender age of 11. He has since danced professionally for over 18 years with the National Ballet of Guinea Bissau. He career has lead him to perform for Dignitaries, Ambassadors and Presidents from around the world. Anssumane has performed in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, South Africa and Libya and has garnered numerous awards for excellence in dance performance and teaching. He teaches traditional and contemporary dance styles (Bijagos, Balanta, Fula, and Manjaco) from Guinea Bissau.

9:ish – 11pm: DJ Ross Of Love spinning tunes!

For more info, contact Jen Cohn, MD:
jecohn6@critpath.org

By the way, here's our class schedule for September 2009

Friday, October 9, 8 p.m.

A very special October Feet Active as Ross of Love and Jason Doodle are both celebrating birthdays.

The night sets up like this…
8pm – a special guest performance by the The Lenny Seidman Tabla Choir, with guest Craig Ebner on sitar.

9:30 – DJs Ginkgo and Ross of Love team up to set the stage for an energetic joyous dance party.

Midnight – Lenny returns to play live tabla during Jason’s midnight yoga class!

100+ vegan cupcakes with a special guest appearance from candles.

By the way, here's our class schedule for September 2009

Friday, August 7, 7 to 11 p.m

FILTHY, a group invitational multi-media exhibition produced by Plastic Fantastic.

Dance performance by Dawnann Bryant and Noelle Tolbert, Cartwheel Gang, Sunset Dance Party, inciting joins the plastic fantastic crew once again, this time w/ a sunset dance party featuring pandemix + carlo flamingo [aesop collective] and isomer transition.

The full schedule of events and links to the artists can be found at http://filthyartshow.blogspot.com.

By the way, here's our class schedule for July 2009

Dance Party, Vegan Cupcakes, and Midnight Yoga

Friday, June 12, 7:30 p.m.

In addition to the dancing, cupcakes, and yoga the June edition of Feet Active will feature a live performances by Maple Rabbit and Wisdom Tooth. Doors will open at 7:30. $5 or pay what you can. Full schedule:

live performances from…
Maple Rabbit (3-person, all-keyboard video band)
Wisdom Tooth (ukulele!)

dance party gets underway at 9:30
music from DJs Ross of Love and Ginkgo

yoga at midnight
Angie will lead a relaxing candlelit class to complete the night

vegan cupcakes throughout
including gluten free, (refined) sugar free and a special Maple Rabbit inspired treat.

By the way, here's our class schedule for May 2009

Studio 34's first birthday by JJ Tiziou

Remember flipbooks? Draw one stick figure on each page of your math textbook, then riffle and marvel as the little guy jumps manically around. JJ Tiziou shot several hundred photos at Studio 34′s first birthday party in March, then mashed them all up into this video. It is extra cool to see scores of folks samba-drumming, and even better to watch the crowd react. Lots of fun bits, like moving the cake out into the lounge, too.

By the way, here's our class schedule for May 2009