Blood Baby

A multidisciplinary dance project exploring queer & gender-expansive identity and family-building

When

June 2024

Where

Sites across Philadelphia (see events)

Disco. Boulders. An electric hug. Welcome to Blood Baby, a multidisciplinary dance project by Meg Foley exploring human sexuality, parenting, family-building, and gender development from a queer and gender-expansive perspective.

Engage in queer parent groups, interactive libraries, movement performances, and more at sites across Philadelphia this Pride Month! Attendance at all events is not required, but is encouraged. Learn more about Blood Baby‘s 5-part constellation of offerings below:

Performance of Carpet Womb, photographed by Alexandra Kacha

Carpet Womb

A sweaty, gay, disco ritual performed by six dancers and experienced inside a large tent-like structure, occurring outside and holding intentional space for shared, radical embodiment.

At Tree Lab at Imperfect Gallery (5539 Germantown Ave), from 6/13–6/16

Primordial installation, photographed by Erin Johnson

Primordial

Rock drag, a site-responsive, sculptural practice presented in a video and sound installation by visual artist (and Foley’s co-parent) Carmichael Jones, to connect geology, transformation, and queer gestation.

At Painted Bride (5212 Market St), from 6/8–6/23

A Touch Library participant, photographed by Garrett Ann Walters

Touch Library

A playful, exploratory hands-on archival library and tour, where you’ll find prompts to engage with rocks, foam, and other materials from Blood Baby’s development, at your own pace. You’re encouraged to attend performances of Communion, in the same building, after your experience.

At Headlong Studios (1170 S Broad St), from 6/7–6/23

Communion

An improvisational movement performance by Meg Foley, where you are invited to respond to prompts based on your physical environment. Communion examines the space between body and language, demonstrating how language extends, represents, and ruptures our corporeal identities.

At Headlong Studios (1170 S Broad St), from 6/7–6/22

Queer Parent Convenings (QPCs)

A group for queer and trans parents to explore collectively how we shape our families, through story sharing, open conversation, and facilitated exercises.

At Natural Creativity (5534 Pulaski Ave), 1 cohort from 4/1–5/27

At the Painted Bride (5212 Market St) and 2nd location TBA, 2 cohorts on 6/9 & 6/16

Major support for Blood Baby has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the National Performance Network and the New England Foundation for the Arts.

Creative team

Meg Foley, Blood Baby project director
Valerie Oliveiro, Carpet Womb lighting designer
Carmichael Jones, Primordial collaborator and co-creator
Elisandra Rosario (DJ Medusa), Carpet Womb DJ
Noèl Puèllo, Carpet Womb costumer
Michèle Steinwald, Blood Baby former project advisor and Queer Parent Convenings co-facilitator
Jesse Harrod, Touch Library and Communion collaborator
Charli Brissey, Carpet Womb performer
Zara Martina López, Carpet Womb performer
Kristine Manuel, Carpet Womb performer
Majesty Royale-Jackson, Carpet Womb performer
Fox Whitney, Carpet Womb performer
Izzy Sazak, Queer Parent Convenings co-facilitator
Melissa Bingham, Queer Parent Convenings co-facilitator
Bailey Roper, Blood Baby project manager and maker-surer-of-things-happening

Community partners

Disability Pride PA is a movement to make Pennsylvania Disability PROUD!
We are the Commonwealth of Independence! Let’s make it a reality for every Pennsylvanian!

Gays With Kids is a services company focused on delivering unique and valuable services for our community of gay and queer dads and dads-to-be.

Genderfunk Philly showcases trans and non-binary theatre talent in Philly and is building an irresistible coalition—and we want YOU to be a part of it! Follow us to get to know our artists, learn something new, and stay up-to-date about what is cute, cool and cutting edge in Philadelphia Theatre. Come funk with us!

Natural Creativity is a 501c3 non-profit that operates a resource center for self-directed partnership education in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA.