Fresh performances break down pandemic barriers

Events find new spaces outside, in virtual world as fall gets going.

Performing arts have taken a hard hit this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, long-anticipated concert dance productions had to be canceled, postponed or moved online, with dance artists suddenly separated from colleagues, trying to train and rehearse via Zoom. When the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, some artists joined the fray, while others responded with powerful new creations. From outdoor performances to online presentations, the fall dance lineup captures the urgency of the times as dance artists continue to reach out, support and lift each other up. Here are some highlights:

“Lost loose and loved.” Glo choreographer Lauri Stallings presents a socially distanced art happening Sept. 10 and Sept. 12 featuring dancer Mechelle Tunstall and musician Emmolei Sankofa performing on a 2.5-acre lot in Midtown that has been sown with wildflowers. Produced in partnership with the Dewberry Foundation, the event is part of Glo’s initiative to support local

essential workers while creating a Midtown spot where people from all walks of life — especially those from marginalized communities — can “heal, hope and reach far,” Stallings said, even while socially distanced. The sloping grounds will be plotted for small groups, sidewalks will be sectioned off, and people in cars can watch from their vehicles. (6-10 p.m. Sept. 10 & 12. Free. Southwest corner of 17th and Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta. gloATL.org)

Dance Canvas. Under the rusted steel beams of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center’s outdoor pavilion, a diverse array of choreographers will share work created in conjunction with the art institution’s first Dance Canvas choreographic residency. The residency has given artists a platform to create and show works that respond to the COVID-19 shutdown while addressing issues of racism and inequality. As part of the project, artists will be featured on Dance Canvas’ online “Choreo Chat” series. Xerophile, a local film production studio, is making a documentary about the residency, slated for completion later this year. (Live and online performances Sept. 25-27, times and ticket prices TBA. 535 Means St. NW, Atlanta. atlanta contemporary.org)

“Long Ago and Only Once.” Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre had planned to give Ana Maria Lucaciu’s dance theater work “Long Ago and Only Once” its world premiere in May. Because of the pandemic, it was postponed until fall. Now it’s getting its debut in a more intimate video format to be viewed online.

Lucaciu, who has danced with many top-level companies and worked with several renowned choreographers, uses clowning techniques to imbue characters with pathos and humor. It’s fitting ▲

◄ then that “Long Ago and Only Once” explores the idea of waiting “for something to be completed,”

Distance Disco Dance Project. The all-female Zoetic Dance Ensemble will present a new work inspired by the group’s collective quarantine experiences as part of a multi-phase project that also involves a film series and blog featuring artists’ stories of quarantine. The project culminates with a dance film, choreographed by Zoetic artistic director Mallory Baxley with original music by Xavier “Xay Zoleil” Lewis. (Available online Dec. 11. zoeticdance.org)

CONTRIBUTED BY T.M. RIVES Artists of Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre perform “Long Ago and Only Once” by Ana Maria Lucaciu, which had been scheduled to premiere in May before the pandemic hit.

Dance Canvas choreographer Xavier Lewis rehearses a new work in the Atlanta Contemporary’s Pavilion.

CONTRIBUTED BY DANCE CANVAS INC. Movement artists Anicka Austin and Mary Jane Pennington appeared in Lauri Stallings’ 2015 “And all directions I come to you,” a work that shares DNA, Stallings said, with her “Lost loose and loved.”