Dawson Martin
Sanspointe Dance Company Presents: HERE

Sanspointe Dance Company performers complete the opening scene of HERE
On Saturday, September 26th, I was bored and with a desire to photograph something awesome. As I often do, I went to Google in search of events in Birmingham. To my surprise, I found just the type of event I was looking for happening that evening. With my camera batteries charged and memory cards cleared, I headed to Children's Fresh Air Farm in Hover for an immersive, outdoor dance performance of HERE by the Sanspointe Dance Company; accompanied by local musicians. The company put on an artistic masterpiece meeting their goal of allowing audience members to feel "what it means to have - and find - community with those around us." Many of the images I captured feel like Renaissance paintings. From the emotive facial expressions to the outstretched arms, bent wrists, pointed fingers, and the entranced gaze up to the sky by dancers, viewers can't help but feel a sense of timeless community isolated from modern gimmicks and social pulls. The live music, immersive audience experience, and dimly lit forest helped further this feeling of community, free of modern connectivity. I thoroughly enjoyed capturing the raw humanity of this performance and will continue this series of photographing community art engagements.
Sanspointe Dance Company and Collins Group Presents
HERE
Choreography by: Anna Foshee, Rachael Inman, Sara Wallace, and Company
Music from: Iron Giant Percussion and Wilder Adkins