Manic Papaya Productions

Manic Papaya Productions is the creative umbrella of Evalina “Wally” Carbonell. We create art which speaks to intergenerational connections, physicality, energetic awakening through the senses, and connection to the natural world through sound and spirit vibrations.  Manic Papaya invites audiences to go deeper into their personal experiences and sensory explorations as they relate to each performance and to one another.  As dance makers, teachers, and performers, we enliven communities with performances, classes, and workshops which help participants to communicate through art making and to learn more about themselves in relationship to nature and humanity.  Manic Papaya invites people into shared experiences which traffic in empathic understanding and ignite the spirit for change through movement.

Through movement, rhythm, breath, and an awareness of the space that surrounds us, we give a physical and palpable voice to the invisible, but deeply felt sensations and emotions inside of us. 

Evalina Carbonell

Evalina Carbonell, known affectionately as "Wally," is a Philadelphia-based dance artist.  She received her early training with Pamela Moore at the National Ballet School in Maryland, attending Cecchetti International Summer Programs on scholarship in both Michigan and England, and earning her Advanced Certification.  Evalina received additional training at the Washington Ballet School and Alonzo King's Lines Contemporary Ballet School, and at Florida State University where she earned her BFA in Dance.  Upon graduation, she joined the Roxey Ballet Company, dancing as a principal artist from 2005-2011, and as a guest artist at Kenya's 2009 Inaugural Ball.  Evalina has performed as a free-lance artist with the NYC-based Dance Iquail, and with Philadelphia artists including Olive Prince Dance, Antonia & Artists, Meredith Stapleton, Jessica Warchal-King, Brandi Ou, and Jae Hoon Lim.  Since 2012, she has been a proud member of the Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, performing and helping to generate principal roles in company repertoire and assisting the Artistic Director as a teacher and repiteur, as well as taking on a new role as the Inhale Performance Series Curator in 2019. As a choreographic artist, her work has been presented at various east-coast platforms as well as locally at Koresh Dance Company’s, “Come Together Festival,” KYL/D’s, “Inhale Performance Series,” Chisena Danza’s, “Evening of Duets,” and others. In 2017, Evalina was the recipient of the Ellen Forman Award, an honor given annually to a Philadelphia-based choreographer in conjunction with a commission to set her work on Drexel University’s Dance Ensemble. In 2019, she was honored to create a work on Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D) for their fall home season. As a teaching artist, Evalina has shared her artistic stylings at University of the Arts, Swarthmore College, Temple University, Towson University, Bryn Mawr College, and Indiana University, along with many independent studios. As an independent producer, she has presented works in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival for five consecutive years (2016-2020). A passionate performer, creator, and teacher, she is also a certified Gyrotonic® and Gyrokinesis® instructor. Evalina is an innovator who creates sensual, inspired, highly physical dance that seeks to communicate, unearthing humanity, and framing it with clarity.