Art visual np2

He was concerned – afraid what he’d told me had “broken my heart”. When I heard him say he was fighting a battle on behalf of my work  I searched inside my chest and found no panic or pain there. The word for “ heart” in the Irish language is “croi”.  It is the seat of emotion, the companion of the soul and the spiritual energy center in the body where personal concerns  merge with universal ones. I assured him my heart wasn’t broken. My heart was calm and love still lived there.  It was  alive with possibilities. But I’d forgotten. The Irish are big-hearted. (They give a larger percentage of their income to charity per capita then any other people in the world.). When you’re Irish it’s easy to forget that an area of your heart can be broken and because of its size you might not feel it right away. Thirty-five years ago there was another battle over my work. The arena, as it is now, was Public Television. This program and the current one invo...

To View Performance Photos Click Here . Water is Life: Hidden Springs, Atlanta is an outdoor site performance designed, written and directed by Sandra Hughes. The production features drama, dance, masks, mime, music and visual art to celebrate the times when Atlanta’s now hidden natural springs were visible and usable - before , during and after the American Civil War. This year marks the beginning of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Hidden Springs premieres on Saturday, November 5 at 3 p.m. for Atlanta’s 2011 Art on the Beltline. The performance site is located off Memorial Drive on the section of the Beltline behind the H. Harper Station Restaurant at 904 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, 30316. The performance is free and open to the public. To view the program for the performance click here . A number of specific natural springs in Atlanta inspired the creation of this production –  the spring beneath The Mask Center (located on the ground floor of the Little...

  Amazon Dance Theatre - Development  Workshop Gateway Performance Productions - The MASK Center Allen Pittman in Collaboration with Jerilynn Bedingfield, Gwyneth Bragdon, Lynn Hesse, Sandra Hughes Photos: Mitch Birnbaum World Class Martial Arts Instructor Allen Pittman met with Theatre and Dance Artists at The MASK  Center in Atlanta, Georgia on January 22 & 23, 2011 to workshop his performance design based on the Amazon form he's developed, nine feminine archetypes and the enneagram. The Greek Goddess Athena Gwyneth Bragdon Magdalene, The Initiatior L. Gwyneth Bragdon R. Lynn Hesse Sword Strategy C. Sandra Hughes - L. Allen Pittman - R. Lynn Hesse, Gwyneth Bragdon The Initiator - Variation L. Allen Pittman - R. Gwyneth Bragdon 

In the series People using their bodies are never wrong (cf articles about surf, parkour or other tight rope walkers), here is a beautiful choreography by William Forsythe entitled One Flat Thing Reproduced that introduce a group of people dancing in a simplistic familiar environment: a group of rectangular basic tables... Bodies are flirting with surfaces and using the space in between that would normally be considered as too narrow to move. The margin between bodies and objects are therefore minimal and the risk of injury creates a very beautiful tension between all the living and inanimate elements of this choreography. The video sometimes shows views of the scene from above which reveals the transgression of the object frame by the bodies. Thanks Hiroko

As I watched the final performance of Breaking New Ground: Dance at The Decatur Arts Festival at the Dance Studio Theatre at Beacon Hill Arts Center here tonight in Georgia I realized that each of the dance pieces on the program could be danced on any stage in the world. The confidence and individuality expressed in the work of the evening’s 10 choreographers and 23 dancers was a revelation and the effortless flow of the evening created a transcendent atmosphere that allowed nuances of movement, emotion and humor to have maximum impact. Kudos to Beacon Dance Company’s Artistic Director D. Patton White who produced this outstanding dance event. “Tribal Raks Assaya” choreographed by Jaki of Jahara Phoenix – sensual, celebratory, and evocative movement creates an atmosphere of strength, joy and vitality. “6 hour later (Distract)” choreographed by the Dancers and Corie B. Thomas-Johnson of Notchyomamas Modern Project - poetry by Pablo Neruda read by Glen Close dissects the ambiguities of l...

Noel Marts and Lesly Fredman, co-directors of The Dancing Flowers for Peace, perform at the Academy Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia for Women's History Month, March 15, 2009. Photo: Michael Birnbaum

A Winter Celebration for Transformation produced by Gateway Performances Productions in collaboration with the Dancing Flowers for Peace, the New Acropolis Cultural Association of Atlanta and performing artists from String Theory was performed on December 29, 2008 to a capacity audience at The Academy Theatre. Guest spoken word artist and musician from Santa Fe, New Mexico Robert Poorman - accompanied by David Hirschorn's inspired guitar music - was a wise and, at times, whimsical ring master. Mask theatre performed by Gateway's director, choreographer Sandra Hughes and mask maker Michael Hickey conjured the duo's ancient Irish ancestors. String Theory performed by poet Alice Teeter, violinist Chip Epsten, choreographer-dancer Priscilla Smith and dancers Eleanor Brownfield, Jaehn Clare, Steve Seaberg and Sally Wylde evoked cheers from the crowd. Atlanta's beloved Dancing Flowers for Peace - represented by Karen Adler, Lynn Hesse, Sandra Hughes, Randy Hyman, Leila La...

I attended a conference in Washington D.C. hosted by the National Performance Network in 2002. Since it was post 9/11 there were plenty of new topics that included - the ongoing importance of individual artists and small performing arts groups as creators of some of the most meaningful community arts projects in this country and the sense of isolation many of these same artists experience. I'm part of the artistic leadership for a small arts organization based in Atlanta called Gateway Performance Productions. The company's 34 years old and has toured performances, residencies, workshops and mask exhibits to 30 states in the U.S. and 12 other countries with a nu mber of programs created for Public Television to its credit. I'm also an individual artist for internationl, national, regional, statewide and local residency programs. Each year I perform for and teach thousands of people from diverse backgrounds with a special commitment to under-served and low-income populations...