Ever wonder what was happening with professional artists during that long stretch of time when we couldn’t, for safety’s sake, go out and see or hear their work in a public place? According to Alexandra Baer, director of Unison Arts in New Paltz, the work went on, even if it wasn’t generating any income. “Because of COVID, people were practicing their arts behind closed doors,” she says. “They were dancing in their living rooms, writing poetry in their closets, playing music in their basements.”
Now, finally, some of that stifled creativity is beginning to emerge in venues where the public can appreciate it. Coming up at Unison this Sunday afternoon, September 26, is an event billed as an “interdisciplinary dance festival” and titled “Behind Closed Doors: Stories from the Time of COVID.” Running from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., it will incorporate visual art, music and poetry as well as dance. The festival is intended to be “a celebration of what we have overcome, a reflection on what we have experienced and an opportunity to reignite the artistry of our communities.”
“It started with Pamela [Lyn], our PR person,” Baer says of how this event came about. “Her energy is just palpable. She’s an artist all-around, with a beautiful shock of blue hair and a twinkle in her eye.” Keen to have Unison present more dance-related events, Lyn connected with a friend named Kimberlee Gerstheimer and offered to co-produce “Behind Closed Doors” in tribute to the resilience and inventiveness of artists coping with this time of isolation.
With Baer’s blessing, the two dancer/choreographers reached out to others they knew in their field and invited them to contribute pieces for a mini-festival. “The artists are coming from all over: New Jersey, New York City, Long Island, even as far away as Maine. They’re interconnected by their relationships with Pamela and Kimberlee.”
The event will get underway with a half-hour mingle and walk-through of a “hanging art gallery,” set up outdoors behind Unison, to the accompaniment of live music by singers Sarah Anjali and Christine Chanel and jazz bassist Joanne Louis-Paul. “The artworks will be hung on clotheslines with clips,” says Baer. “It will be very interactive.” Attendees will also be able to ask poet Pierce Logan to compose and recite “poetry on demand, on any topic.”
At 2 p.m., the audience will be seated, the musicians will continue playing and the dances will begin, with original choreography by Pamela Lyn, Kimberlee Gerstheimer, Ashley Daigle, Sasha Malone and the Doubletake Dance Company. Other participating dancers will include Britney Kimball, Chaery Moon, Jessica Michal, Julia Foti, Kelsey Lloyd, Leighann Kowalsky, Oscar Antonio Rodrigues, Sarah Gavilla and Sarah Xippolitos. Logan and fellow poets Briana Rose, Irene O’Garden and Lissa Kiernan will also do readings during or in between dance pieces. An audience talkback at 4 p.m. will wrap up the celebration.
Part of the impulse behind this event is the need for Unison to reach out to broader audiences. “Unison wants to start bringing in all these multidisciplinary arts events, so we can engage people of all age groups, outdoors in the sculpture garden. We’re seeing more and more younger people at these events,” says Baer, who will be turning over the organization’s reins to a new director, Faheem Haider, in October. “Faheem is Bangladeshi, which is very cool and very wonderful. Our audiences have been pretty homogeneous for a long time. As a Latina, I was able to loosen things up a little; but he will be able to take it to the next level of diversity.”
Tickets for “Behind Closed Doors: Stories from the Time of COVID” cost $20 general admission, $18 for seniors, $15 for Unison members and $10 for virtual viewing. There is an additional $2 booking fee for each ticket. To order, visit www.unisonarts.org. The Unison Arts & Learning Center is located at 68 Mountain Rest Road in New Paltz.
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