INSIDE LOOK | The Sound of CIRCLES: going in / September 20, 2021 by PearlArts Studios

“I can make this just this and then I can distort it./I can add effects.

Echo reverb.

And that's just one sound./So then here's my other sound.

There's my little hi hat, little noise that I have with different tunings.

8 clap ride move dub easy

better, better, better, better…”

Catching up with SPdp&SS Dancer Chandler Maria Bingham! / March 30, 2021 by PearlArts Studios

Meet our dancers! We're bringing you a new series of blog posts featuring our talented dancers at STAYCEE PEARL dance project& Soy Sos. This week, we (re)introduce you to Chandler Maria Bingham!

Ways to Give to PearlArts Studios on a Budget / December 7, 2020 by PearlArts Studios

Give the gift of community! As we work towards our goal of raising $20,000 by December 31, we understand that especially now, not everyone is in a position to give financially. There are many ways you can support PearlArts Studios. Read on for our top ideas!

In RE: Holding Space for Black Trans Lives / August 5, 2020 by Guest User

Welcome back to In RE! This week, we all dedicated our time to watch DISCLOSURE, a Netflix documentary that dives deep into Hollywood's representations of transgender people and its impact as described by trans creatives, actors, directors, and more.

In 2019, the Human Rights campaign called fatal anti-transgender violence in the United States "A National Epidemic." Last year, 91% of transgender people fatally killed were Black, 81% were under the age of 30, and 68% lived in Southern US states. It is still a national epidemic today. (Source: HRC.ORG)

In RE: How Do the Arts Survive Digitally? / July 9, 2020 by Kitoko Chargois | PearlArts Studios

Welcome to our new blog series! Every two weeks, we’ll be picking topics pertaining to movement, sound, art, and current events and discussing them! We invite you to join the discussion in the comments below. This week, we will be discussing an article from The Conversation by Caitlin Vincent: Giving it away for free – why the performing arts risks making the same mistake newspapers did. As COVID-19 continues to force the necessity of social distancing and bans on large gatherings, the dance and theater world is still scrambling to adjust. When Allegheny County went into lockdown in early March, the move was sudden and unexpected. All of our live engagements with STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos and planned events at PearlArts Studios were cancelled or postponed. It’s been 5 months since that lockdown, and while the county went to green phase and cautiously began reopening, it was not long before we slid back into the yellow phase due to rising cases of Coronavirus. It has been important to us to keep moving, creating, and setting the groundwork for the future. With social distancing, utilizing outdoor spaces, masking up, and running admin remotely, we have been able to make space to adapt to a digital reality. In this week’s in RE: our team weighs in on Caitlin Vincent’s article on how offering digital content for free is affecting our industry.

Across the Floor: Anniversary Edition #8 / June 5, 2020 by Guest User

Illuminated by soul and funk music during the 50s and mid 70s, Staycee and Herman Pearl premiered the production sol. at the first pearlPRESENTS Dance Festival in summer of 2019. sol. echoes the emphatic sounds of the musical phenomenon and exceeds it with powerful and elegant movement. The sumptuous vibes fill the space to the brim, abundant with dancers embodying the relentless energy of the era in overwhelming floral and retro patterns. This week we wrap up the 10th anniversary of STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos and the birthday of co-founding artistic director Staycee Pearl, reflecting on the innovative sounds and enduring memories of joy that soul music made and continues to move generations in this Q&A and our Spotify playlist expertly curated by STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos.

Across the Floor: Anniversary Edition #7 / May 27, 2020 by Guest User

In the 2019 production of sym, STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos tunneled through the paradoxical universe of vampires and humans to navigate symbiosis, gender identity and race inspired by Octavia Butler’s “Fledgling.” Transcendent, fixed, and changing, Staycee and Herman conjured a deep naturalism with live experimental music by musicians Sadie Powers, Bonnie Jones, & Soy Sos as well as artwork by acclaimed visual artist Barbara Weissberger.

Across the Floor: Anniversary Edition #6 / May 24, 2020 by Guest User

In 2017, Staycee and Herman revisited their love for jazz vocalist, composer, and civil rights activist Abbey Lincoln in their production ABBEY: In The Red. Rather than pull directly from raw compositions of Lincoln’s music, the production concentrates on the intricacies of her voice and historical influence during the Jazz age with a contemporary arrangement of her work. STAYCEE PEARL dance project was accompanied in the August Wilson Center with a live quintet of woodwinds, strings and electronics curated by Herman Pearl and arranged by saxophonist Ben Opie. However, they didn’t just stop there.

Across the Floor: Anniversary Edition #5 / May 20, 2020 by Guest User

Following playground, Staycee and Herman Pearl rekindled their love for the ‘90s nightlife in the production of FLOWERz. FLOWERz bottles the relentless and ecstatic energy of the house music scene, pulling from memories of Staycee’s experiences in dance clubs and Herman’s discoveries as a music producer during the time. STAYCEE PEARL dance project dancers not only explored movement professionally, but also investigated social dances and partnered phrases to bring the party scene to the stage. This week, we circled back to Staycee and Herman Pearl on the importance of creating FLOWERz and performing it in 2016.

Across the Floor: Anniversary Edition #4 / May 16, 2020 by Kitoko Chargois | PearlArts Studios

After OCTAVIA, which drew inspiration from the life and sci-fi works of Octavia Butler and …on being…which explored race, gender, and identity, STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos decided to lighten the mood with PLAYGROUND in 2014. PLAYGROUND examined movement in the context of a simpler and more innocent time: childhood. Melding childhood reminisces, PLAYGROUND explored movement, topography, and memory. In today’s 10 year retrospective, we travel back in time with SPdp&SS dancer, Jessica Marino Mitcham. Read on for a glimpse behind the piece!