The Hopewell Valley community is invited to celebrate the arrival of J. Seward Johnson II’s monumental sculpture, The Awakening, at D&R Greenway’s St. Michaels Farm Preserve on Sunday, May 21, 2023, from 11am to 1pm. The Hopewell Valley Arts Council, D&R Greenway , and the Johnson Atelier are hosting a joy-filled celebration that includes dance, poetry, music, and storytelling – all things that Seward Johnson loved.  Local performance artists commissioned by the HV Arts Council will create an immersive, site-specific performance inspired by The Awakening, the histories of Hopewell Valley, and the land of St. Michael’s Farm Preserve. This gathering considers memory, imagination, legacy, and nature, weaving together different forms of art. Featuring work by performing artists including Michael J. Love, Tomia MacQueen, Sattriya Dance Company, Maiko Uchida, Ann Robideaux, and donia salem harhoor, this family-friendly event celebrates the monumental sculpture’s arrival to Hopewell. The event is open to all and free of charge. For accessibility accommodations, please contact info@hvartscouncil.org. Parking: Limited parking at D&R property is reserved for handicapped access ONLY. Please park at Hopewell Elementary School and be prepared for a 10 minute walk through trailed terrain..

Michael J. Love is an interdisciplinary tap dance artist and scholar who is currently based in New Jersey where he is a 2021-23 Princeton University Arts Fellow and Lecturer in the Program in Dance at Princeton’s Lewis Center for the Arts. Love’s work has been supported and presented by Fusebox Festival and ARCOS Dance and recognized by the Austin Critics Table. His credits include an original performance as part of visual artist Tiona Nekkia McClodden’s The Trace Of An Implied Presence at The Shed in New York, the Broadway laboratory for choreographer Savion Glover and director George C. Wolfe’s Shuffle Along…, and roles in works by choreographer Baakari Wilder. Love and frequent collaborator, anti-disciplinary artist Aryel René Jackson, were recipients of the 2021 Tito’s Vodka Prize. Love holds an M.F.A. in performance studies from The University of Texas at Austin and is an alumnus of Emerson College. DancerMLove.com / Instagram: @dancermlove

Tomia MacQueen is an Educator of 19 years, Dancer, Choreographer, Farmer, and Food Advocate. She is the Founder of Dance for LIFE (Love, Inspiration, Faith, and Empowerment) and Gardening for LIFE, and the owner of Wildflower Farm in Pennington, NJ. Tomia holds a BA in Dance and Education from Hunter College. She is a former member of Art of Motion Dance Company. Her private dance school is dedicated to working with both the bullied and the bully. Serving as Dance Ministry Director of The Whole Truth Church of God in Christ for ten years beginning in 2010, she continues to work in Dance ministry as well as teach and choreograph in local schools and programs. Tomia is an active member of the agricultural community in Hopewell and beyond both through her Wildflower Farm and through partnering with local organizations and schools to help propel Food Education, Sustainability, and the closing of food security gaps through education. She is the newly appointed Princeton Public Schools Food System Literacy Coordinator. More at wildflowerfarmnj.com.

Sattriya Dance Company (SDC) is a labor of love for sisters-in-law Madhusmita Bora and Prerona Bhuyan.  SDC seeks to preserve, present, and promote Sattriya—a 550+ year old sacred ritualistic dance and music tradition originating from the Vaishnav monasteries of Assam, India. Rooted in the principles of social justice, SDC uses Sattriya as an agent of change, spreading messages of peace, equality, love, and universal kinship, while also creating inclusive spaces that allow for conversations, deep investigations, learning, connecting, and healing. More at sattriyadancecompany.com.

Maiko Uchida was born in Oita city, Japan. She started to play percussion instruments while she was in junior high school. She moved to New York in spring of 2004 and enrolled at The New School, where she majored in Jazz and Contemporary Music, and studied with Ari Hoenig, Carl Allen, Reggie Workman, Jane Ira Bloom and George Garzone. She graduated from the New School in May of 2007 and since then has had opportunities to play at prestigious jazz clubs in and around New York City such as Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (Lincoln Center), Sweet Rhythm, Smalls and various other locations. Among the stellar talents Maiko has performed with include jazz giants such as Phil Woods, Billy Harper, and Rodney Green. As the leader of a creative jazz ensemble Moonset, Maiko released a CD “Lifelong Endeavor” in 2007. More about her at maikouchida.com. 

donia salem harhoor (they/she) is a Disabled egyptian-american anthophile based in Princeton Junction. Executive Director of The Outlet Dance Project, Founder of the Duniya Collective, they are vice-chair of the Odissi Alliance of North America. An alum of Community of Writers, Open Mouth Poetry Retreat, & Urban Bush Women’s Summer Leadership Institute, harhoor was Ground For Sculpture’s inaugural Performing Artist in Residence. A Lambda Literary and Root.Wounds.Words. Poetry Fellow, donia’s award-winning work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Frontier Poetry, Mizna, The Margins, Swim Pony’s TrailOff project, Anomaly, Spoon River Poetry Review, and Sukoon among others. A principal dancer and choreographer with Sakshi Productions, an herbalism apprentice of Karen M. Rose (Sacred Vibes Apothecary), their MFA in Interdisciplinary Art is from Goddard College. More at doniasalemharhoor.com.

Ann Robideaux (she/her), is a choreographer, dance film-maker and educator based in Hopewell, NJ.  Concentrating on site-specific dance, her works have taken over the audience seats of Dance New Amsterdam, the historic Frying Pan and Lilac WWII lightships, the fountain of Galapagos and the steps of the Eldridge Street Synagogue in NYC. Her latest projects have included the installation “Social Fabric, in the public square” at Guild Hall (East Hampton) along with many operas and musicals. Her dance films include NYC Dances: Sternberg Park, Ntl Public Radio online, several collaborations with donia salem harhoor and the Rave of Mestizas, Argentina.  Apart from original works, she has choreographed numerous straight plays and musicals and just completed her first dance film documentary.  She is also the Dance and Theater coordinator and choreographer-in-residence at Princeton Day School. More at www.AnnMakesDances.com.