SUMMER SOLSTICE ARTS CELEBRATION
RETURNS TO WEST PHILADELPHIA
Poet-Tree En Motion Presents Arts Showcase with Free Fire Performing, Live Music and Movement Meditations June 18 at The Rotunda
WEST PHILADELPHIA – Poet-tree En Motion returns Wednesday, June 18 to light up the summer solstice with live local art! Join from 7–9 p.m. at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia for a free multidisciplinary arts showcase that will ignite your senses and feed your soul.
The summer solstice brings passion and creativity. There will be an ample supply of both at this event with presentations of dance-theater, spoken-word poetry, movement meditations and live music. An incendiary fire show will culminate the night’s festivities.
Performer/Artist Lineup:
Plum Dragoness – spoken word, dance and meditative movement
KillerWhale – high-energy funk, ’80s synth-pop and hip-hop fusion
Angi Vita – live painting magic
Lucid Melody – soulful singer-songwriter vibes
B.A.D. Blaze – blazing fire show with Ambra Renee, Bryce Adams and special guest Jules Weingart
DJ JusFresh – hip-hop and old school R&B DJ’ed beats
Valentina Sounds – indie-folk singer-songwriter
Bring your friends, your curiosity, and your summer spirit. It’s free, open to all, and not to be missed!
The Poet-tree En Motion is supported by grants from the University of Pennsylvania. Admission is free. Tips are 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.
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 CONTACT:
Gabrielle de Burke (artist Plum Dragoness)
Founder/Event Organizer Poet-tree En Motion
484-557-9605
EVENT LISTINGS:
Poet-tree En Motion Summer Solstice Celebration 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, June 18 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19104. The event is free to the community and will feature chi-gong, yogic arts, a fire performance, live music, live painting, and spoken-word poetry.
ARTIST BIOS:
Plum Dragoness (aka Gabrielle de Burke)
Native to West Philadelphia, Plum Dragoness 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.
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
DJ_JusFresh (aka Justin Wakefield)
DJ JusFresh’s style is hip-hop and old-school R&B party music. He was born and raised in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. A Germantown resident, DJ Jusfresh has loved music since studying piano and theory as a toddler at Settlement Music School. He continued his love of the arts during his years at The William Penn Charter School and Penn State University. Today he is one of the best-kept secrets in Philadelphia's deep DJ scenes due to his open-format style and ability to play to any audience.
DJ_JusFresh on Instagram / Justin Wakefield Facebook profile
LucidMelody (aka Alexa Lahr)
LucidMelody is a Philadelphia creative and yogi who will sing and play original songs. Also cofounder of Inspiration Station. She strives to cultivate creative spaces for people to inspire each other. She also loves to create jewelry, candles and clothing. She always works to stay well-rounded in her arts.
@_lucidmelody on Instagram
Valentina Sounds
Valentina Sounds is an Italian-born, Philadelphia-based multi-talented creative. Her music draws from personal experiences, transforming challenges into messages of hope and resilience. Sarcastic, introspective, catchy and upbeat, Valentina will draw you in with her powerful vocals, compelling arrangements and heartfelt lyrics. She performs honest personal stories with a catchy pop twist.
Music video "Eat The Chocolate" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZTbY5G4KJE
Music video "For both of us" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyCNi4ZRUDo
@valentinasounds on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
@valentinasoundslessons on TikTok
KillerWhale
Featured in Season 5 of Netflix’s Queer Eye and the brother of Grammy-winning artist Macy Gray, Nathon McIntyre—aka KillerWhale—is a Philadelphia-based artist and community builder blending music, movement, and mission. As the founder of Bodyrock Bootcamp, a hip-hop-infused, community-first fitness space in West Philly, he brings people together through rhythm, storytelling, and sweat. KillerWhale’s sound fuses high-energy funk, 80s synth-pop, and hip-hop into a sound that’s both nostalgic and futuristic—like Rick James piloting the Millennium Falcon on a mission to spread funk throughout the galaxy. From rooftop concert series to the Open Sweat Jam Festival and his underground music collective Privacy Policy, KillerWhale is building a funk-powered movement rooted in unity, rebellion, and joy.
With roots in DIY culture and a mission to make movement and music tools for liberation, KillerWhale isn’t just an artist—he’s a movement.
Bryce Iz Nyce
Bryce Iz Nyce is a dynamic force of movement and spectacle, blending athleticism with artistry in every performance. As a masterful fire spinner specializing in intricate poi tricks, Bryce lights up the night with hypnotic displays of skill and rhythm. Beyond the flames, he’s a professional Parkour and free-running athlete who has competed on the world stage in World Chase Tag, pushing the limits of speed, agility, and creativity. Off the course, Bryce shares his passion by teaching Parkour to kids and young adults, inspiring the next generation to move with confidence, discipline, and freedom. Whether leaping across rooftops or spinning fire under the stars, Bryce brings energy, precision, and heart to everything he does.
Ambra Renee
Ambra Renee is a dynamic multidisciplinary performance artist known for her playful, powerful presence onstage. Creator of the hilariously absurd roller-skating act Esther Rollz, she blends comedy, character work, and physicality in dazzling ways.
A skilled fire spinner, and trained in heels and burlesque, Ambra’s work spans the sacred, the sensual, and the downright silly—always inviting her audience into a world of bold movement and unexpected joy.
Follow the sparkle; follow the flame. Ambra Renee: where the magic rolls in.
B.A.D. Blaze Special Guest Fire Performer - Fae Effervescent
With wind under her wings and fire to light her path, Fae Effervescent performs, enchants and mesmerizes with her fire dance. Fae appeals to the inner child inside each of us with her joy in movement and illuminated flow. She is ancient fire magic playfully casting spells of awe and wonder wherever she performs.
Angi Vita
Angi Vita is a visual artist who will present live body painting and may paint faces of random audience members.
