Preparations for Pollinator’s Parade

Costume fitting for the pollinators; bee, bat, butterflies and moth

Classes have been a bit different since the beginning of the year, in addition to working on their technical exercises, Movement Arts Atlanta (MAA) students have been hard at work learning choreography which will be put together to make the ballet, Pollinator’s Parade. Extra exciting are the days that include costume fittings.

As is tradition, Movement Arts Atlanta will present an Annual Student Recital. For 2023, Pollinator’s Parade will be presented on Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall of Inman Park Church, 1015 Edgewood Avenue NE, Atlanta, Georgia. The performance will present a story ballet by the same name, a modern work and be followed by a reception for guests and dancers. Admission is free and the public is welcome. The performance will last for 30 minuets and is appropriate for all ages.

The ballet includes wonderful characters such as Mother Nature, the Gardeners, Flowers, a Bat, Butterflies, a Moth, a Bee and a Hummingbird. It is set to the music of American composer Stephen Foster (1826-1864) who is best know for his popular songs: I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Oh Suzanna, The Old Folks at Home, Camp Town Races and Beautiful Dreamer. The story line includes the arrival of Spring and Mother Nature needing help to get thing to full bloom.

 

 

 

Inman Park Dance Festival: Be Part of the Fun of This Unique Event

Did you know that Atlanta has the Southeast’s only free admission dance festival that presents both classical ballet and modern dance? This unique dance program is the Inman Park Dance Festival. This event is part of the Inman Park Festival and Tour of Homes a program of the Inman Park Neighborhood Association. It it curated and managed by the Director of Movement Arts Atlanta, Carolyn Stine McLaughlin.

For the 2023, there will be five dance organizations presenting; Ballethnic, Full Radius Dance, Georgia Ballet, ImmerseATL and Movement Arts Atlanta. Ballethnic is a professional ballet company which has a unique vocabulary that blends classical ballet and West African. Full Radius Dance is a internationally recognized leader in the modern dance specialty of physically integrated dance. The Georgia Ballet was founded in 1960 and includes a professional company, a school and extensive outreach programing. Movement Arts Atlanta will present both historic and new dances that are a part of our major project, A Time with Isadora.

The Inman Park Dance Festival will present two performances. The first on Saturday, April 29 and the second on Sunday, April 30. Both performances are at 4:00 pm, are free and open to the public and will take place in The Trolley Barn, 963 Edgewood Avenue NE, Atlanta GA 30307. The same program will be presented at each performance.

The Inman Park Festival and Tour of Homes is the major fundraiser for the Inman Park Neighborhood Association and the funds raised are used to do such things as beautify the neighborhood and to fight legal battles to protect the neighborhood’s historic zoning regulations. It is run entirely by volunteers. It take more than 800 volunteer hours to put on the event. Both neighbors and non-neighbors are welcome to join the fun. The dance festival needs help setting up, greeting the audience, and cleaning up. Here is a link to sign-up.

See the Documentary March 26

The Atlanta showing of A Time with Isadora: How One Artist Influences Many is just 9 days away! Movement Arts Atlanta is very proud of the work that the film crew has done and hopes you will take the time to come to the theater on Sunday, March 26 for the 3:30 pm showing. The showing will be held at The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta Georgia 30306 and is free and open to the public, reservations are not required.

The documentary is a part of Movement Arts Atlanta’s dance project of the same name which is inspired by Atlanta’s Olmsted Linear Parks and the modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan. The project explores how one artist influences many, integrating historic dance works, new choreography, visual art, photography and filmmaking.

The premier of the documentary on February 25 was a great success. The premier took place at Ciné, Athens, Georgia’s independent art house cinema. It was very well attended with an estimated audience of 75-85 guests.

The film was well received by the guests who were full engaged for the hour-and-ten-minutes of the film. Audience comments  included:

I learned more than I expected from the documentary. Very educational! – Alexis

An accomplishment to be proud of. A contribution of beauty to future generations. – Elizabeth

A gallery of photos and more information about the evening are available here on the A Time with Isadora website.

Get a Peek at the Documentary!

Movement Arts Atlanta’s major project meets a milestone. A Time with Isadora’s filmmakers have been hard at work on the documentary. The trailer is now available to see, here is a link. It is beautiful and a taste of what the full hour-and-a-half documentary will be like.

The film is by Carrie Miller who is being supported with editing and design by Margot McLaughlin and with cinematography by Mollie Robertson. All three are students at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Miller and Robertson are both in the Media and Entertainment program and McLaughlin is in the Landscape Architecture program also pursuing a masters in Historic Preservation. More about these artists is available here. All three have been with the project since its first rehearsal in April of 2022 collecting hours of footage of rehearsal, performance and work session. They have also interviewed all of the artist working as part of the project, upwards of 20.

The showings of the documentary are free and open to the public. Here are the dates and times with links to the event listing on this site:

Athens’ Premier

Saturday, February 25, 2023

7:00 pm, Ciné, 234 West Hancock Avenue, Athens, Georgia 30601

Atlanta Showing

Sunday, March 26, 2023

3:30 pm, The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30306

Here is a link to the Events page of the project for more information.

Welcome 2023!

Happy New Year to you and your family! As we begin 2023, Movement Arts Atlanta looks forward to another semester of service celebrating the joy of dance!

Classes for children and adults have begun, however, MAA welcomes new students throughout the season and would be happy to talk to you about what classes would be a good fit for you and/or your child. Here is a listing of classes with schedules and descriptions.

Plans for the Annual Student Recital are underway! This year’s ballet will be Pollinator’s Parade, a sweet and joyful welcoming of spring by Mother Nature and all her helpers. The performance will be Saturday, May 20 at 3:00 pm and will be open to the public, location is to be determined. Admission is free. Even if you are not a student of MAA you are absolutely welcome to attend. The performance is family friendly and is a delightful opportunity for children to learn to be good audience members.

MAA’s major arts project, A Time with Isadora, has several events in the first half of the year. Documentary premiers will take place in Athens and Atlanta. The Athens premier will be on Saturday, February 25 at 7:00 pm at Ciné and the Atlanta premier will be on Sunday, March 19 at 3:30 pm at The Plaza Theatre. This screening is also a part of the Atlanta Preservation Center‘s A Phoenix Flies: A Celebration of Atlanta’s Historic Sites. The dance works that are a part of the project will be a part of the Inman Park Dance Festival which is a program of the Inman Park Festival and Tour of Homes on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30 at 4:00 pm at the Trolley Barn. This performance is free and open to the public. To complete the cycle of the project, planning for a site specific performance in the Olmsted Linear Parks is underway. Look for this in May.

The Gift of Dance

Looking for the gift of an experience for your spouse ,child or grandchild? Movement Arts Atlanta is happy to organize gift tuitions for any of our classes. We welcome new students throughout the year and begin the Winter/Spring Semester on January 3, 2023. MAA offers classes for ages 3+ with Modern for children aged 7+ and Adult Beginning Ballet. A complete listing of classes with description is available here.

MAA’s tuition includes participation in the Annual Student Recital on May 20, 2022. This participation includes costuming and tickets for this yearly event. This year’s story ballet will the The Pollinator’s Parade.

MAA is also happy to organized items like books, sticker sets and craft items to accompany your gift.

All of MAA’s tuition is base on a rate of $23 per hour and includes instruction and all items related to performance (costumes and tickets) except tights and shoes.

Jesus & The Beatles: The Revolution is Now!

Movement Arts Atlanta is feeling groovy because of Jesus & The Beatles: The Revolution is Now! MAA’s Director, Carolyn Stine McLaughlin is the choreographer for two far-out numbers for this mash up of Beatlemania and the Christmas Story. Produced and presented by Inman Park Church, there are shows on Sunday, December 4 at 5:00 pm and Saturday, December 10 at 7:00 pm at the church, 1015 Edgewood Avenue NE, Atlanta Georgia in Inman Park. Admission is free and donations will be collected for The Stewart Center which is based in the Pittsburgh Neighborhood.

Beatles tunes tell the Christmas Story as re-imagined by the rock-‘n-roll Angel Gabriel. Jump-start your holiday by rocking out to an awesome live band, sassy story-telling, a bit of dancing, favorite Beatles tunes, and a magical mystery tour to a renewed Christmas story. Inman Park Church has previously presented Elvis & Jesus and Jesus & Aretha, with great success.

The Stewart Center has been serving the Pittsburgh Neighborhood in southwest Atlanta since 1916. Its programing focuses on education, wellness and housing solutions.

Come early for best seats! All you need is love…and a little help from friends —- so spread the word and be there!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! No Classes This Week

In observance of Thanksgiving, there are not ballet or modern classes this week.

As a reminder, the Summer/Fall Semester ends on Saturday, December 17th. The Winter/Spring Semester will run from January 3 – May 13, 2023. This will be followed by the Annual Student Recital on May 22 at 3:00 pm.

Annual Student Recital – Pollinators’ Parade Returns

Each May, Movement Arts Atlanta presents its Annual Student Recital. For the 2023, the story ballet for the show will be a restaging of Pollinators’ Parade which was first performed in 2014. The performance will be on Saturday, May 22, 2023 at 3:00 pm.

The ballet includes wonderful characters such as Mother Nature, the Gardeners, Flowers, a Bat, Butterflies, a Moth, Bees and a Hummingbird. It is set to the music of American composer Stephen Foster (1826-1864) who is best know for his popular songs: I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Oh Suzanna, The Old Folks at Home, Camp Town Races and Beautiful Dreamer. The story line includes the arrival of Spring and Mother Nature needing help to get thing to full bloom.

To see the first staging of Pollinators’ Parade, visit here on the See What We Do page.

Wine Stroll Time

The students of Movement Arts Atlanta (MAA) will perform as a part of the Inman Park Wine Stroll. This fundraising event for the Inman Park Neighborhood Association’s Security Patrol will take place on Saturday, October 22, 2022 from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm. There will be 14 porches serving wine, lots of live music, a food truck court and a bit of dance. Tickets are $50 and are available here. Stroll, sip and enjoy the beauty of live performance among the homes and buildings of Atlanta’s most iconic historic neighborhood.

MAA’s students will be performing excepts from the 2022 Annual Student Recital, Blackberry Ball. There will also be a opportunity for the audience to join in the dancing. The dance performances will take place at 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm in front of Inman Park Church, 1015 Edgewood Avenue. Performances during the event are free and open to the public and may be attended without a wine stroll ticket.

The wine stroll is a fundraiser and is run 100% by volunteers. Volunteering for big events like the wine stroll is a fun way to connect with neighbors and new friends. If you would like to volunteer, here is a link to the sign up. Fundraising is always more fun with friends, new and old!