Contemporary Dance Occupies Historic Roswell

Submitted by Maggie Davis

Communities remember their past in many different ways, with war memorials, flying flags, parades and historical markers to signify special events and places in history.

Gestures that soon will disappear, a dance installation by nationally acclaimed choreographer Lauri Stallings and her Glo dance company, followed Civil War re-enactments last weekend to offer a different lens through which to view the horrific deportation of Roswell’s 400 women and children millworkers. 

Based on the overarching theme of migration, Stallings’ choreography explored the deep feelings of fear, anger, anguish, despair, resignation and potential renewal that come when one is torn from home and family. 

“We have all migrated from somewhere, whether from home to work, one city to another or across a border,” Stallings said of the theme. 

The public art event began on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (July 12-13) when a dancer in a long white dress solemnly walked toward the town square, holding a black paper-cut sculpture. As more than 125 citizens looked on, 11 other young women in jewel-toned gowns joined her in dance maneuvers that interpreted the millworkers’ emotions.

The dancers circled around the central fountain in gestures of anguish, pain and resignation, whispering inaudible words, as the tolling of a bell rang through the air.  Dancers led the audience down Sloan Street Park, where they formed a circle and invited audience members to join hands while listening to the sounds of a Martin Luther King oratory on education. The climax of the one-hour dance event occurred at Old Mill Park.

Passing through the covered bridge, the dancers draped their bodies over the rock outcropping at the end of the bridge adrift on a sea of rock. A hallmark of Stallings’ choreography is the duration of the gestures. The long poses challenge the dancers, and engage the audience in the vulnerability of the moment. 

At the Sunday installation 6 dancers left the tableau and walked in procession to the creek below. Kristen Brown, dressed in gold walked into the water and stood with outstretched arms facing the western sun in a gesture of promise. Soon all the gestures disappeared, and we were left in the reflection. 

Roswell Arts Renaissance Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for artists and public art, presented Lauri Stallings and Glo’s gestures that soon will disappear through private funding.  

For more information, see RoAR’s Facebook page.

Editor's note: Maggie Davis is an artist and scholar living in Roswell. She was recently appointed to the board of RoAR and is a member of the steering committee for Imagine Roswell Arts: 2030, a citywide plan to enliven Roswell through art and culture.