On a 46-acre property in Wallkill, among the trees and beside a private lake, WildHeart: Center for Performance and Embodiment Practice is preparing to host its third Shared Stage event on December 13. The evening will feature short performances by Hudson Valley artists, continuing a series that has become a gathering place for both emerging and established creators looking to share their work in a setting that feels more intimate than institutional.

WildHeart describes itself as a land-based culture hub, which in practice means it functions as both a retreat center and a community. Long-term residents live on the property alongside artists who come through for workshops, residencies, and performances. The emphasis is on embodiment and presence, concepts that might sound abstract until you consider how the space itself shapes what happens there. The lake, the land, the barn are not just backdrops but active elements in the creative process.

Lillian Kemanis, a member of the programming team at WildHeart and a previous performer, experienced this firsthand when she created a piece for the first Shared Stage in May. As an artist in residence that April, she became captivated by the sounds emerging from the lake as spring arrived—the peepers, the frogs, waking up to the land. Her performance became a soundscape built entirely from those natural forces. It’s the kind of work that doesn’t happen in a traditional studio, the kind that requires you to be somewhere long enough to notice what the place is saying.

The Shared Stage format itself is deliberately structured to encourage experimentation and connection. Each event features three to six performances, ranging from 10 to 20 minutes, spanning disciplines from contemporary dance to physical theater to aerial work. Artists can present finished pieces or works still in development. After each performance, audience members receive note cards where they can write down their impressions of the artist’s work, rather than offering critique. It’s a space for reflection, not evaluation.

What surprised organizers most about the first Shared Stage was the turnout. They had prepared for a modest crowd, unsure whether anyone would show up to an inaugural event at a relatively new venue. Instead, the barn filled. The second iteration brought aerial dancers on harnesses, silks, and ropes. Artists started returning, wanting to develop their work further. Others began collaborating after meeting through the series. The momentum suggested something people had been waiting for without quite knowing it existed.

The December performance will feature movement and dance pieces, along with physical theater. One piece incorporates voice and sound into experimental movement. Another explores contemporary dance. It’s the kind of eclectic mix that keeps an evening unpredictable in the best way, where someone who came for one thing discovers three others they didn’t expect to love.

WildHeart’s founders, Neva Cockrell and Raphael Sacks, have been cultivating a community for years, in various forms and locations—Italy, Vermont, and now this part of the Hudson Valley. They found the property during the pandemic and spent over three years building it from the ground up, literally renovating structures and metaphorically establishing the relationships that make a community cohere. It’s work that doesn’t announce itself loudly but accumulates through shared meals, Thursday contemplative practices held in silence, and the act of just simply opening the space to people who need it.

The holistic support WildHeart offers artists—food, housing, studio space, landaccess—stems from a belief that creativity requires more than just physical space. It needs nourishment in multiple forms. It needs peace that comes from being somewhere beautiful and the energy that comes from being around other people engaged in similar struggles and joys. For artists who spend so much time alone in their own heads, in their own echo chambers as Lillian describes it, having an audience changes the work. It gives it context and shape. It reveals dimensions you couldn’t see when it was just you and your materials.

Accessibility runs through WildHeart’s approach. Tickets for Shared Stage operate on a sliding scale from $5 to $35. Most events follow similar pricing structures, and the center reserves spots specifically for BIPOC participants in collaborative events. The goal is to remove financial barriers wherever possible, to make sure resources reach people who don’t usually have access to them. It’s embedded in their values, not an afterthought.

WildHeart is planning to hold Shared Stage quarterly, with the next one scheduled for spring. They are also open to proposals from artists and practitioners interested in leading retreats or teaching workshops. The calendar stays full with public movement events, artists residencies, and immersive retreats. There’s always something happening on the property. For more information about their events, visit their website at wildheartcenter.art.

On December 13, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., another group of artists will step into the WildHeart barn at 183 East Rd in Wallkill and share what they have been working on. Audience members can enjoy watching movement and dance unfold, writing down their impressions on note cards, experiencing an evening full of art and creativity.