SANITY CEREMONIES

--a one-woman, multi-media, dance theater production.--

"Integrating video, props and animation into her conception, Hale pinned her personal narrative to larger ideas of myth, ritual action and Greek folk dancing, showing its broader relevance. Ultimately, her inspired work demonstrated what it means to live a conscious, creative and joyful life." --ArtsATL

Excerpts from "Sanity Ceremonies" -- a piece inspired by and dedicated to my great-grandmother, Panayiota Theofilakis, who came from Greece to the United States, by herself, when she was 18 years old, to start a new life. It's an homage to her, and to all of us, who daily swim in the waters of the unknown and wrestle with the questions, concerns, triumphs and losses of navigating this life. Helen Hale: conception, choreography, and performance Danny Davis/Protect Awesome: production design Amanda Baumgardner: costume creation Mike Boutté: video design Elwen Hau: set & props Santiago Páramo: sound design Troy Stains: live video Micah Dalton & John Hale: co-writing & acting. Musical credits: field recordings from The Hambidge Center, Djinn, Alt-J, Yiannis Xylouris, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Lord Huron, Balkan Beat Box, Cat Stevens, Nature Sounds for Sleep and Relaxation, Belleruth Naparstek, Michelle McLaughlin, La Orchestra Cinematique, MC Hammer, Byzantine Music of the Greek Orthodox Church, Eri2, Enya

Photographs above by Bobbi Jo Brooks. Photograph below by Andre Keichian.

Sanity Ceremonies is a one-act, one-woman foray into being both in-stride and off-kilter in a hectic and baffling world.  The production takes form through a marriage of dance, text, video animation, costume, and prop use that draws from a range of daily rituals, archetypal figures, cultural idiosyncrasies, and autobiographical anecdotes, as I plumb the material of my own day to day realities as an artist, and the beauty and enigma of my family heritage.

I worked with a fantastic creative team to build this show: Video Artist, Mike Boutté, Costume Designer, Amanda Baumgardner, Set/Prop Designer, Elwen Hau, Lighting Designer and Technical Director, Danny Davis, and Musical Wizard, Santiago Páramo. 

Helen Hale Dance in collaboration with Jaamal Benjamin/VIGEROUS

One Long Adagio with Antenna Up.

Dance film commissioned by Spark and Echo Arts. Created in collaboration with Jaamal Benjamin/VIGEROUS. Philadelphia, PA. 2014

One Long Adagio with Antenna Up is a musing on love, distance, listening, and taking a long time to arrive at refreshment. Many thanks to Andy Coval for his vital misting. 

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Shirtology. A restaging.

Commissioned and presented by the Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design for the DO IT exhibition. Philadelphia, PA. 2014.

My own take on Jérôme Bel’s work, “Shirtology.” Thank you to poet Maggie Ginestra for aiding me in telling a story in 28 T-shirts.