AVA Gallery: Dance, Through the Glass
You could be on the outside looking in, but in a good way.
I have distinct memories of the welcoming nature of the big, beautiful windows at AVA Gallery in downtown Lebanon NH. A winter or so ago, my husband’s and my toes were frozen as we limped through the dark from a holiday market on the town green to an opening reception at AVA. The windows shone like marmalade and the light puddled onto the adjacent sidewalk. A postcard moment. We were toastier just for the sight.
AVA will be opening two exhibitions in honor of women’s history month, featuring female sculptors, one a group show with Christine Hauck, Ellen Keene, Amanda Sisk, and Heather Szczepiorkowski and another by artist Stefania Urist. In lieu of an opening reception, AVA will feature a performance by dancer Ellen Smith Ahern on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 pm; the performance is designed to be viewed through the (newly-washed) windows.
Ellen Smith Ahern has danced throughout the world and is a new resident of Lebanon NH. I shared with her my passion for AVA’s windows while wondering about the challenges of performing on the other side of glass that separates her from her audience. Her response acknowledges the limitations but also the potential of this new venue.
“The windows were AVA's idea, and I'm excited about them, both as a challenge and an opportunity to connect in an unconventional way. . . As an artist, I'm always curious about how dance making can be a journey for both the dancers and the viewers—I like to be able to see my audience up close, hear them, interact with them and feel how their presence shapes my work. So yes, performing behind glass is a limitation in some ways.
I'm hopeful though that, with a sense of humor and a willingness to try to connect despite the barrier, viewers will get to experience the sculptures and the dancing in a fun, thought-provoking way. Maybe we can all get something fresh and new out of what feels like a very challenging, fatiguing year of distance. I think that another delightful aspect of this event is that it opens up the worlds of performance and visual art, both of which can be exclusive, to truly anyone passing by on the street.”
Audience members and passersby who stop to view are asked to wear masks and socially-distance. AVA will also make the performance available via Zoom. To sign up for a Zoom link, and to learn more about the exhibitions and artists, please click here.
(Photo, top, is of the artist dancing in Brno, Czech Republic in 2011. Photo credit: Marek Prochazka.)
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.