Defiant Silk Festival

Saturday, May 13 from 3-4pm

Theatricality and Creating Captivating Performances

Mesmerize your audience while standing still, and leave them hanging on your every look.

Create characters that appear larger than life, turning audience members into friends (or minions who will do exactly what you want them to!). Express real emotion rather than simply pasting on facial expressions. And tell stories without using words. We'll apply acting techniques directly to movement and dance, and you'll leave with concrete ways to leave an unforgettable impression on your audience.

For all movement-based performers (burlesque, drag, dance, circus, etc.).

Instructor: Dawn Xiana Moon

Dawn Xiana Moon has sung the National Anthem for the Chicago Bulls and danced on Britain's Got Talent; she was named "Best Stage Performer" (2020, 2019), "Best Dancer" (2019, 2022), and "Best Choreographer" (2022) by the Chicago Reader.

She is the founder/director of Raks Geek / Raks Inferno, a bellydance, circus, and fire performance company that has earned international accolades - they’ve been featured on MSN, Chicago Tribune, and UK Channel 4 TV. She also has a degree in Theatre from the University of Michigan and over 25 years of formal actor training and performing experience. We'll apply acting techniques directly to dance and movement, and you'll leave with concrete ways to blow your audience's minds.

Sunday, May 14 from 3-5pm

Gentle Mindfulness Movement: Qigong Foundations for Every Body

Explore the foundational Qigong forms in this interactive and experiential workshop. In 60 minutes, you'll experiment with the forms and its adaptations (yay, inclusion and accessibility) so you can add this practice to your wellness routines (from a morning meditation and pre-workout warmup to in-between-Zoom-meeting re-centering). Then, you'll engage in a brief conversation about wellness, equity, liberation, and cultural appropriation.

All bodies and experiences are welcomed. Come curious and come as you are. Comfortable clothes and compassionate hearts recommended.

Instructor: Crocodile Lightning

Crocodile Lightning uses the art of striptease to rekindle the connection with her body and femme sensuality. Similarly, she uses performance arts both to unpack the socially-constructed notions of gender and to express her courage, vulnerability, and resilience. Crocodile Lightning incorporates self-compassion and mindfulness practices in her performances and teachings as she invites the audience to challenge the status quo and awaken to the moment-to-moment vitality of life.