ABOUT SANCTUARY:

Sanctuary is a collective of dancers, musicians and visual artists who work together to interpret story through original multimedia works. True to its name, Sanctuary aims to create a safe space for all participants to engage in healing, restoration, and freedom of expression. Through collaboration, live performance, and audience engagement, our creative work places the voices of the vulnerable and marginalized at its center, citing them as sources of inspiration, empowerment and beauty.
 

CREATIVE TEAM:
Meet the Ensemble Members

From Left to Right: 
1. SONIA SZAJNBERG - Vocals/Electronics, Composition
2. MOLLY ARONSON - Music Director, Cello, Composition
3. HANNAH L. BARNARD - Artistic Director, Dancer/Choreographer
4. KRISTEN MCGUIRE - Flute
5. ROBERT GUILFORD - Percussion, Composition
6. KYLE P. WALKER - Piano, Vocals
7. CATHERINE MURCEK - Dancer/Choreographer
8. MELISSA WU - Dancer/Choreographer
9. DEANDRE COUSLEY - Dancer/Choreographer
10. KATE KOENIG, Trumpet, Guitar, Singer/Songwriter

OUR HISTORY:
Stages of Creation

I. December 2018 - "Grandma’s Vision"

CONCEPT: Inspired by a story from my grandmother, Norma Walters, in which she receives a vision of color, strength, peace and light during a near-death experience in open heart surgery. Directed & choreographed by Hannah Barnard; Composed by Sonia Szajnberg; Costumes by Mary Symczak; Produced by Kyle Walker. Dec. 2, 2018.

II. December 2017 - "Powerful Voices of the Marginalized"

Spectrum NYC - Brooklyn, NY

The Sanctuary Project is thrilled to invite you to experience our newest creation, Powerful Voices of the Marginalized - a blend of dance theater, new music, and visual art communicating stories of physical and spiritual empowerment emerging from the depths of vulnerability.

Join us on a journey of resistance, reflection and redemption through three vignettes, each creatively conceived by a different member of Sanctuary, with costumes designed by Mary Symczak:

2:30-12:25 - Tension by Kate Koenig
an interpretation of power dynamics within complicated relationships
Kate Koenig - singer/songwriter
Cat Murcek and DeAndre Cousley - choreography

12:42-24:40 - Invisible Weight by Melissa Wu
transports us to her native home in Hong Kong, leads us on a spiritual journey through a fragmented exploration of memory
Melissa Wu - choreography
Bright Sheng's “Seven Tunes Heard in China” - cello solo
Molly Aronson and Rob Guilford - composition
Gabriella Cipolla Martin- paintings

27:50-45:15 - Grandma's Vision by Hannah Barnard
Illustrates a story contributed by Norma Walters' near-death experience during open heart surgery
Hannah Barnard - choreography
Sonia Szajnberg - composition
Melissa Wu - video projection

III. June 2017 - "Lights Living in the Dark"

ShapeShifter Lab - Brooklyn, NY

CONCEPT:
"Lights Living in the Dark" is an original work for dance theater and new music that communicates hidden stories of hope buried in life's most difficult experiences. The centerpiece of this new work is a story written by my grandmother, Norma Walters, following a near-death experience. In her story, she describes receiving a vision of color, strength, peace and light while in open heart surgery.

REALIZATION:
The production loosely follows a liturgical model, incorporating improvisations on medieval chant composed by Hildegard Von Bingen and recorded texts spoken by my grandmother interwoven with fresh, original content created by Sanctuary's ensemble members. The overall work invokes the sense of sacredness contained in a traditional religious mass while creating space for contemporary expression and interpretation.

PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE:

IV. September 2016 - "Metamorphosis"

Artslope Festival - Brooklyn, NY

V. April 2016 - "The Birth of Sanctuary"

Hannah's Journal Entry from April 4th, 2016

What is this work? Why do I need to create it?

The work is entitled "Sanctuary." It is a montage. It should read fluidly, like a sequence of dreams or memories...

The story is a journey. The word "journey" implies movement. The word "sanctuary," however, invokes stillness. A place of calm respite. A moment to pause. A quiet sense of home and a spacious sense of shelter in the midst of a busy city, a busy self, a busy life. It is not an escape from the journey, however. It acknowledges the journey, supports the journey, and provides fuel for the journey.

Sanctuary is also a place of healing. What can be more healing than a full sensory experience of pure beauty? Visual beauty. Aural beauty. The scent of burning candles, of bonfires on a crisp, cold day, of honeysuckle or citrus or lavender. The taste of freshly baked bread, the warmth of wine. The sounds of trickling water. A soft voice who read you a story or sang you a lullaby when you were a child. Weaving together each of these elements into one experiential fabric can create a sensory ecosystem rich with the capacity for deep healing.

A sanctuary provides a safe space to be vulnerable. To be raw, open, honest, and upfront about life's daily and deepest struggles. For me, this is where poetry enters the scene. Suffering, death, loss, pain, heartache, exquisite yearning and indescribable longing all begin to safely find their voice and their purpose through their transformation into poetry. The continuous transformation of this poetry into the more mystical languages of sound and motion contains the power to reach deeply into many human souls, pouring the healing balm of beauty into the most secret and tender wounds.

Companionship will be a major theme throughout this work. "In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter," says Khalil Gibran, "for in the dew of little things, the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." Although the process will involve openly grappling with some weighty themes, a genuine spirit of joy can always be found within the act of co-creation. I envision this work peppered with many moments of lighthearted spontaneity, lending it an overall air that is both deep and light.

What I love most about the concept of "Sanctuary" is that it is considered to be both a sacred space and a safe place. The word "sacred" reveals its purpose as a resting place for the spiritual presence of a Divine Creatress. The word "safe" reveals its purpose as a haven for all of Creation. A true Sanctuary is a sacred space in which all creatures are invited to participate creatively in a unifying experience that both includes their individuality and extends far beyond themselves. In essence, "Sanctuary" is a sacred meeting place between that which is eternal and that which is temporal; between spiritual reality and tangible reality; between cosmic mystery and intimate comfort.

How do these ideas translate into creative work?

My ultimate vision is to create an immersive, sensory experience for all participants, blending together the elements of live music, choreography, poetry, visual art, scents, and tastes. I aim to work with my collaborators to unify all these elements through a hands-on process of "co-choreo-composing," breaking down language barriers between the worlds of movement, text, imagery, and sound as we collectively construct our own fully embodied storytelling language. We will seek to unite creative spirits from across the centuries through a variety of experiments built into our creative process, such as improvisational explorations of melodies composed by 12th-century mystic Hildegard Von Bingen. "The Sanctuary Project" in its final form will take on the fluid structure of an "Art Mass," inviting all participants into a deeply unifying experience of community and a thorough nourishment of the body, mind and soul.

VI. June 2015 - “Improvisational Sketches”

PROCESS: My dear friend Mary Dove curated an Urban Women's Retreat in partnership with Lean In NYC based on the theme of "Women in Storytelling." Molly, Rob, Kristen and I presented the following improvisational sketches. We began our creative process with two pieces of text written by Hannah. Molly created a graphic notation score in response to the text. (The scores are projected on the screen behind the performers.) Our movement and music improvisations were created in response to the imagery in the text and the visual arc of the graphic notation scores.