In 2nd event, dancers will honor women & mothers

Amy Waddell, daughter of the late Sedona sculptor John Henry Waddell [Feb. 14, 1921—Nov. 27, 2019], said her father always celebrated the mother.

One of his sculptures, most of which depict women, is the perfect example of this, she said.

“It’s called ‘Mother and Child,’” she said. “It’s a woman sitting cross-legged, very pregnant. On her knee is a child whose hand is lifting the mother’s chin up in a proud way, looking sort of toward the future.”

While the sculptor was known for not giving much in terms of meaning behind each piece, wanting the audience to come to their own conclusions, he kept high respect for women and mothers, especially throughout the process of childbirth.

“He also had sculpted and sketched his models when they became pregnant,” Amy Waddell said. “Rather than feel that they were not going to be good models, he would invite them in and my mother and father would spend time with these women as they were going through their pregnancy and get to know the kid once they were born and as they were growing up.

“So the whole process of creating and rearing children was something that my dad felt was a very important life experience.”

To honor mothers using her father’s work, Waddell and the Sedona Dance Academy are organizing the Dance Into Beauty performance on Mother’s Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10.

Like the inaugural November Walk into Beauty performance, the Mother’s Day event includes solos and group dances around the sculptures placed around Tlaquepaque.

“We’re doing different work,” said Danielle McNeal, artistic director for Sedona Dance Project and one of the main choreographers. “The only returningwork will be the trio for the performance.”

The trio, performed by McNeal, Jessica Phillips and Heather Harper, had dancers using large boxes as props by the three statues in front of the Vue Gallery. The additional dancers include Sedona Dance Project teacher Will Walker and Ahdivah Cohen.

The performance includes a walk around 14 Waddell sculptures installed around Tlaquepaque. At each, Amy Waddell will give a brief history of the sculpture, its name and introduce the dances.

“We noticed [last time] the sounds for the music was great, but — growing this talking aspect of this — some people have difficulty hearing,” said McNeal, who runs Sedona Dances and uses silent disco headsets, which she plans to hand out to audience members.

“We’ll be trying to add that access to the event at the time, with maybe 20 extra headsets for people that maybe can’t get in close,” she said.

The free showings will begin at 1 and 3 p.m. on both days inside the Renee Taylor Gallery.

Phillips, who choreographed her own solo for the event, said she took a lot of inspiration from her mother and the sculpture “Amanda — Temple of the Soul” for her work.

“She’s been so supportive in every way you could hope to have a supportive parent,” she said.

Her dance and choreography is connected to the lighthearted feeling children have when they’re young and in a supportive environment, like what she experienced with her mother.

Walker, a new Sedona resident and the first male dancer involved in the Tlaquepaque performances, choreographed his own solo alongside the “Dancer in Motion” sculpture.

McNeal said the rehearsals have been a bit difficult, considering the dancers are trying to incorporate the statues themselves more into the dances.

“We do some work in the studio and some work there,” she said. “I go there, I feel the space out and then I try to recreate it in the studio and we actually stack up mats to get the level.”

The organizers welcome volunteers to help set up and pass out headphones. Those interested can visit sedonadanceproject.org.