Chloe Marie x Aaron Pond/ Tara Middleton x Mijkalena Smith

An evening of duos exploring forms of reciprocity and intracorporeally through quakes, shakes, and the breaking of thought like the waves upon the shores.

The enhancement and entanglement of spirit is the goal. Nothing more, nothing less.

Chloe Marie- Movement Aaron Pond- Horn, Electric Mbira, Voice, Flutes

Tara Middleton- Voice, Violin, Electronics Mijaklena Smith- Movement

$15-$20 at the door.

Bios

Tara Middleton is a 2022 Grammy Nominee and a 2019 Pew Fellowship nominated vocalist, violinist, and lyricist. She is currently the lead vocalist of the legendary, Grammy-nominated, Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, (which also utilizes her talents as a violinist, flutist, and lyricist). For over ten years she has also relied on her music education degree when working as a teacher with the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, the Arts in Education Northeast PA, the Northeast Conservatory of Performing Arts, and the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Tara is strongly tied to the diverse flavors and talents of the Philadelphia music community; and is equally influenced and inspired by legendary jazz vocalists, (whom she fell in love with as a teenager), Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Cassandra Wilson.

Chloe Marie is a multi-disciplinary artist based on the Lenni Lenape Land also known as Philadelphia. They started dancing at the age of 7, attended a performing arts high school, and received their BFA in dance in 2017. Chloe now is a freelance dance artist and collaborates with various artists across Philadelphia.

Aaron Pond is a musician, concert promoter, and community organizer active in Philadelphia’s improvised music scene. From a childhood steeped in the rigorous forms of Judaic music and classical horn playing to his present focus exploring free music and international sonic forms—Aaron has played with and transcended musical genres. Aaron has performed alongside many fantastic musicians including Toshi Makihara, Matt Lavelle, Carlos Santiago, Dan Blacksberg, and Sonali Singh. He flirts with intuition as a form of gnosticism.

Mijkalena (Mijka) Smith is a Philadelphia-based dance artist originating from Elverson, Pennsylvania. Mijka earned her BFA in Dance from Temple University, graduating Magna Cum Laude of her class and receiving the Frances Bowden Award for Excellence in Dance. Trained in Ballet, Modern, African Diasporic, Hip Hop, and Improvisational techniques, Mijka has had the honor of studying under renowned dancers and choreographers such as Clyde Evans, Kyle Clark, Kun-Yang Lin, Antoinette Coward-Gilmore, Wayne St. David, and Abdur-Rahim Jackson. She has trained as a member of Academy of PHRESH, under the guidance of Mark “Smart Mark” Boston and Shanika “QP,” and took part in the 2021 Troupe Intensive led by Antoine Troupe. She currently serves as the Director of Dance at Upper Merion Dance & Gymnastics Center in Upper Merion, PA as well as teaching and choreographing at Creative Edge Center for the Arts (North Wales, PA) and The Philadelphia Dance Academy (Philadelphia, PA). In addition to her work as an educator and administrator, Mijka performs, choreographs, and curates productions independently in Philadelphia and New York. Her current choreographic interest is in integrating poetry, movement, and music to create a rich artistic experience. You can find information on her latest work through her website mijkalenasmith.com