Asked if he had a favorite dancer in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview last year, longtime Atlanta Ballet artist John Welker responded, “As a younger dancer, I admired Nureyev. Now I just enjoy observing the dancers around me, especially the younger ones, like Heath Gill. He’s someone I look to for inspiration.”
That seemed typically kind of the talented but humble Welker, giving props to a colleague more than a decade his junior. But it’s true that Gill is gifted, as others are noting, as well.
The Illinois native, now in his fourth season with the Atlanta company, is being highlighted as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2014.
The short feature on Gill in the January issue by Atlanta arts writer (and AJC contributor) Cynthia Bond Perry starts with a vivid description of the dancer’s 15-minute solo in Ohad Naharin’s challenging “Minus 16” last season.
“Carrying off that solo for that length of time under those circumstances, it takes depth, gravitas, confidence, risk,” artistic director John McFall told the magazine. “Heath folds into Naharin’s work like he was born for it.”
Gill, who also performed lead roles in Michael Pink's "Dracula" and David Bintley's "Carmina Burana" last season, will next dance the role of Mercutio in Jean-Christophe Maillot's "Romeo et Juliette," Feb. 7-14 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre (information: www.atlantaballet.com).
To read the Dance Magazine story: http://goo.gl/5S2kEC. To watch a video about Gill: http://goo.gl/Vbyhif.
VISUAL ART
Expert’s take on folk art to open in Madison
Anyone who has ventured to Folk Fest, the annual summer folk art extravaganza at North Atlanta Trade Center, knows that the definition of what constitutes folk has never been more fluid.
One of the true experts in the field, former High Museum of Art folk art curator Susan Crawley, will give her take in for “Georgia and Beyond: Southern, Self-taught Art, Past and Present,” an exhibition she organized that goes on view Friday at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center in Madison. Crawley will present a 7 p.m. gallery talk during the opening reception (6-8 p.m.).
The exhibit highlights the accomplishments of vernacular artists from Georgia and across the South, none of whom received significant formal art training.
The “Past” artists alluded to in the title include acknowledged masters Howard Finster, Clementine Hunter, Nellie Mae Rowe, Bill Traylor and Morgan County’s own George Andrews.
Filling all three of the galleries in the renovated 1895 school building, works in “Georgia and Beyond” will be divided into three categories: artists from Georgia working in styles traditionally associated with self-taught art; Southern artists from outside Georgia working in similar 20th century styles; and young artists, some highly educated (though not in art), whose work is still highly idiosyncratic.
Some of the artists represented in that final grouping are J.J. Cromer, Williams Fields, George Lowe, Melissa Polhamus, Alan Wayne Bradley (“Haint”) and John Culver.
Through April 13. 434 S. Main St., Madison. 1-877-233-0598, www.mmcc-arts.org.
ARTS
Idea Capital announces $10,000 in grants to nine
The grassroots Atlanta independent arts funding group Idea Capital announced last week that it is awarding nearly $10,000 in grants for nine diverse projects by metro artists.
Idea Capital considered 106 entries in selecting the nine artists and collaborative teams who will receive grants from $500 to $1,500. The funds for this seventh year of grants were contributed by arts supporters and artists themselves.
The group’s stated mission is to encourage “innovative, risk-taking works unlikely to be funded by more traditional revenue streams.”
The funded projects:
- Jonathan Bouknight: Will create a videotaped dance performance, "Two-Headed Nightingales," focused on conjoined-twin performers Millie and Christine McKoy.
- DJ Lynnee Denise: Will focus attention on the influence of female house music DJs and producers through a "Diaspora Nights" event.
- Hester L. Furey and Michael Rovinsky: Will create a graphic novel, "Love and Revolution," based on the radical early 20th-century Greenwich Village magazine The Masses.
- Juel D. Lane: The choreographer will debut a dance film inspired by Ernie Barnes' painting "The Maestro," accompanied by music from Atlanta singer Maiesha McQueen.
- T. Lang: The choreographer will create "Post Up," a meditation on love and loss using sensors and software to add to dance.
- Stephanie Pharr, Onur Topal-Sumer and Martha Whittington: The Atlanta artists will honor 20th-century feminist artist Judy Chicago, using her work as a jumping off point to consider the role of women in the 21st century. Their collaborative piece, "hymHouse" will unfold over one month in an Underground Atlanta storefront.
- Matthew Terrell: Will create a book combining photography and prose that describes the artistic and political influence of drag queens on gay life in Atlanta.
- Milford Thomas: Will create a multimedia performance about Natchez, Miss., writer Octavia Dockery, who continued to create in the 1930s despite personal obstacles.
- Benjamin Wills: Will collaborate with federal prisoners who will create 500 paper airplanes — metaphors for personal expression and momentary escape — to be displayed in an Atlanta art venue.
More on the recipients: www.ideacapitalatlanta.org.
Puppetry Center to detail Henson-sparked expansion
The Center for Puppetry Arts announced in 2007 that it was to be the recipient of major gift from Jim Henson's family of 500 to 700 puppets, props and more. Fundraising then proceeded slowly through the recession.
Finally, expect big news on Tuesday, Jan. 14, as the puppetry center announces details of its expansion.
Read all about it on MyAJC.com on Tuesday afternoon and in Wednesday’s Living section.
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