Pew Center for Arts and Heritage

Get our monthly newsletter in your inbox for the latest on cultural events, ideas, conversations, and grantmaking news in Philadelphia and beyond.

Main page contents

The Dance Apocalypse

Gabrielle Revlock
A work-in-progress performance of The Dance Apocalypse at Scratch Night, March 2013. Pictured, from left: Gabrielle Revlock and Nicole Bindler. Photo by Kate Raines.
A work-in-progress performance of The Dance Apocalypse at Scratch Night, March 2013. Pictured, from left: Gabrielle Revlock and Nicole Bindler. Photo by Kate Raines.
A work-in-progress performance of The Dance Apocalypse at Scratch Night, March 2013. Pictured, from left: Gabrielle Revlock and Nicole Bindler. Photo by Kate Raines.
A work-in-progress performance of The Dance Apocalypse at Scratch Night, March 2013. Pictured, from left: Gabrielle Revlock and Nicole Bindler. Photo by Kate Raines.

Gabrielle Revlock developed a new dance-theater work with past collaborator Nicole Bindler. Their previous collaboration, I made this for you (2011), culminated in a circus of acrobats, tap artists, and break dancers. The duo responded to footage of that production in a live performance that explored the nature of creative collaboration, as well as themes of gender, competition, and spectacle. Jane Comfort, an award-winning choreographer known for combining language and movement, served as mentor. In addition, Barrymore Award winner Brett Cassidy coached the dancers in fight choreography, to physicalize the push and pull of the collaborative process. Revlock and Bindler offered free "dancercise" classes to the public, introducing local "dance enthusiasts" to the notion of dance as a performing art, and to include participants in a working "laboratory" where choreographic ideas and discoveries emerged during the development of The Dance Apocalypse. Revlock was a first-time Center grantee.

Recipient
Gabrielle Revlock

Gabrielle Revlock

A Philadelphia dancer/choreographer with a penchant for humor and surprise, Gabrielle Revlock is a former Jeanne Ruddy Dance company member. She has worked with numerous local and international choreographers including Isabelle Chaffaud and Jérôme Meyer (Netherlands), Sean Feldman (U.K.), Willi Dorner (Austria), and Katsura Kan (Japan), and her work has been shown across the country. Interested in performance as a social art form, she is also the creator of "Wear Your Wig to Work Day," an annual "holiday" that occurs the last Friday in January. Revlock holds a B.A. in art history from Vassar College.

More info
Explore Connections
Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses, 2025 installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. Photo by Constance Mensh.

Artist Carl Cheng on the Nature of Being Contemporary
Interview Tradition & Translation
Mary Testa, Taylor Trensch, and Jordan Dobson in Night Side Songs at Philadelphia Theatre Company. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.
Director Taibi Magar on Night Side Songs and the Power of Sharing Stories
Michelle Lopez, Ballast & Barricades solo exhibition, 2019-20. Photo by Constance Mensh, courtesy of the artist. 
Must-See Cultural Events in Philadelphia for Your 2025 Calendar
Pew Fellows Carmen Maria Machado and Vitche-Boul Ra. Photos by Neal Santos.
Fellow to Fellow: Carmen Maria Machado and Vitche-Boul Ra on Blending Genres and the Hidden Work of Being an Artist
Interview Cross-Disciplinary Practices
EgoPo Classic Theater, rehearsal for Ramayana with Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Kalanari Theatre Movement, 2023, Java, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of EgoPo. 

Projects in Process: Wilma Theater and EgoPo on Creative Collaborations
Essay Co-Authorship & Collaboration
Photography related to this content

Poet Ross Gay on Sport and the Act of Looking
Video Cross-Disciplinary Practices
The Barnes Foundation, Returning to Before, performed as part of William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision exhibition, choreographed by Brendan Fernandes. Photo by Daniel Jackson for Embassy: Interactive.
Choreographer Brendan Fernandes on Dance in Museums
Video Site-Specific Performance
Pew Fellows Candice Iloh and Armando Veve. Photos by Neal Santos.

Fellow to Fellow: Candice Iloh and Armando Veve Find Inspiration in Each Other’s Mediums
Interview Cross-Disciplinary Practices
Enrique Bostelmann, Portrait of Cora Flores, 1980, part of Mirages series.

Projects in Process: Discoveries in the Archives with Berman Museum and Japan America Society
Essay Legacy & Archives