Poet-Tree En Motion Presents Cacao Ceremony, Shamanic Sound Journey, Movement Meditations and Poetry on Dec. 18 at The Rotunda
WEST PHILADELPHIA – During this cold and dark time of year, we tend to go inward to slow down and hibernate. Yet every year, we are reborn energetically and spiritually during the winter solstice. As the sun’s energy begins to grow as the days grow longer, we grow. So it is at this time of year in darkness that we must prepare for the sun’s rebirth as well as our own.
Join the annual Poet-tree En Motion Winter Solstice celebration 6:30-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia. Doors open at 6 p.m. The free community event will prepare the spiritually minded and the curious with a heart-opening cacao ceremony, movement meditations, shamanic sound vibrations, and spoken-word poetry.
Artistic director Gabrielle de Burke, aka Plum Dragoness, will open the space with grounding and centering movement meditations involving chi-gong and yogic arts. This will prepare the group spiritually before partaking in a cacao ceremony led by Isa Flora.
The cacao ceremony will allow participants to take time to align with their intentions that they want to bring with them into the winter solstice and winter season.
“As we enter winter we begin to settle deep into the darkness and go inward –allowing ourselves to dream, to grieve, to create, to be held by the earth,” Flora says. “Winter is the dark void where anything is possible and we are the sacred flame of creation.
“Cacao is an ancient plant medicine that connects us directly to spirit through the heart so we can receive clarity on whatever it is we are bringing into the ceremony,” she explains. “It is a sacred time to let yourself rest into trust and receive the wisdom of cacao’s spirit. This plant medicine spirit reminds us how we are never alone even when it feels like it the most. May we sit together to receive and share in sacred ceremony during the portal of winter solstice.”
Bring a journal, water bottle and comfortable clothes. Those on heart medications or SSRIs should be mindful of drinking cacao and talk with their doctor first.
To participate in the cacao ceremony, register by messaging @IsaFlora on Facebook, @isabelcaroline on Instagram or isabelszel@gmail.com. The workshop will only provide enough for a maximum of 50 people. Participants should be present by no later than 6:30 p.m. The doors will close 6:45-7:45 p.m. during the ceremony.
After the cacao ceremony, Iron Gump, Brian Kong, and a musical guest will lead participants on a transformative shamanic sound journey, weaving together Tibetan singing bowls, gongs, native flutes, guitars and conscious breath work. Experience immersive vibrations, emotional balance and spiritual connection.
To close the event, Plum Dragoness will perform spoken-word poetry and chanting dedicated to the dragon spirit Lung Shen and the Year of the Dragon.
The Poet-tree En Motion is supported by grants from the University of Pennsylvania. Admission is free. Donations at the door will benefit the Lakota People’s Law Project. Tips are also welcome and encouraged for the individual artists.
For information about Poet-tree En Motion, email de Burke at 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.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Gabrielle de Burke (artist Plum Dragoness)
Founder/Event Organizer Poet-tree En Motion
484-557-9605
EVENT LISTINGS:
Poet-tree En Motion Winter Solstice Celebration 6:30-9pm Wednesday, Dec. 18 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19104. Doors open at 6pm. The event is free to the community and will feature chi-gong, yogic arts, a cacao ceremony, a shamanic sound journey, and spoken-word poetry. Donations will benefit the Lakota Law People’s Project.
ARTIST BIOS:
PLUM DRAGONESS
Native to West Philadelphia, Plum Dragoness (aka 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.
Instagram: @plumdragoness @dragonspiritarts @authentic.eccentrics
ISAFLORA
IsaFlora is a Boricua Taino mixed creatrix whose lineage has held powerful healers and earth stewards. Isa has been holding sacred ceremony space with the intention of collective heart resonance and collective liberation. She has been sitting with cacao in an intentional way for almost four years and has been studying in an apprenticeship over the last year. Isa also holds Free Flow Movement Journeys that help support people in building a deeper relationship to themselves through embodiment practices. Isa has been stewarding a medicinal plant garden called Maxkalaniyat Garden with her mama for the last six seasons. Isa is devoted to being a bridge and sharing in remembering who we are, the importance of our relationship with Mother Earth, and ways to come back to the heart and deep compassion with ourselves and each other.
facebook - Isa Flora
instagram - @isabelcaroline
IRON GUMP
Iron Gump is a sound and energy worker. Through his understanding of energy and movement, he utilizes sound and vibration to guide people into spaces where they can freely explore relaxation. Iron Gump has shared his sound journeys in Manhattan and Connecticut boardrooms and offices, Haitian refugee camps in Dominican Republic, a private Japanese arboretum in Maui, a boutique hotel on Maderas Beach, Nicaragua, and many other places between for the last eight years. Working alongside Remedy Partners Inc. and Quartet Health, he has led and set the tone for corporate retreats, office openings, informative talks and, more recently, for Mental Health Week. His practice is an inclusive experience for people from all walks of life. "In a world of Make-Believe, let us believe in what we make."
IronGumpart.com
Instagram: @irongump_art
