Upcoming Performances
Beacon Dance to present
Moving Bodies/Moving Hearts/Moving Minds III:
an evening of new dance works
Beacon Dance will present an evening of premiers of new dance works by several Atlanta choreographers working at the intersection of arts and activism. Moving Bodies/Moving Hearts/Moving Minds III will feature five new works seeking to inspire dialogue around a host of themes and ideas, and will bring together choreographic voices through works by AK Bayer, Leah Behm, Madison Lee, Ashlee Ramsey-Borunov and D. Patton White. The evening of new works will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 4, 5, & 6, 2025, at 8:00 PM each evening. Performances will be held in the Main Gallery at The B Complex, 1272 Murphy Avenue SW, in the Capitol View neighborhood of Southwest Atlanta, Georgia. Performances are free, and reservations are highly recommended. This program is supported by grant funding from the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the Fulton County Arts and Culture and the Georgia Council for the Arts. For more information or to make reservations: [email protected] or 404.441.9243.
AK Bayer will be creating a new work that addresses social justice issues by using movement and performance as a tool for exploring resistance, healing, and the complexities of identity. Through the act of world-building, this work creates a space where queer joy is not just celebrated, but embodied as a powerful act of defiance against systemic oppression and assimilation. By harnessing and portraying this joy, they challenge the forces that seek to suppress marginalized voices now more than ever. In this work the act of play becomes a means of healing—offering a space to process grief, question the rituals and routines we adopt, and reimagine possibilities for a future. In this context, movement becomes an avenue for reclaiming agency, with participants finding their own roles within larger movements for social change. Children’s games and rituals, such as “the floor is lava”, hide and seek, and checking for monsters under the bed, are used as allegory to invite reflection on society’s fear of otherness/the unknown, as well as the tendency to “do the most” to deny or avoid a pressing social issue. This avoidance is often rooted in intentional ignorance, where addressing uncomfortable realities is delayed or ignored for the sake of maintaining the status quo. In my choreography, these acts of denial are confronted, forcing us to face the difficult but necessary conversations surrounding justice, equity, and belonging. Through these layered themes, their work seeks to create a dynamic world where resistance, joy, fear, and denial are not just explored through a queer lens, but reimagined, inviting audiences to rethink their roles in both personal and collective movements for positive change.
Madison Lee is creating a new work reflecting on her childhood. “The piece I am presenting this April revisits the Korean nursery rhymes, folktales, and mythologies that I heard as a child and utilizes them for compositional and movement inspiration. My cast of all Asian dancers encompasses multiple nationalities and experiences, including but not limited to growing up in the American South, being bi-racial, and growing up outside of the United States. This work investigates the morals/character traits from me and my cast members' formative stories, such as resilience, generosity, protection, sacrifice, guidance, and power. Through the movement vocabulary, the dancers research how they connect to the themes and how these traits connect us back to our Asian heritage.”
Ashlee Ramsey-Borunov will present a new work entitled Disform. This work investigates the centrality of embodied experience to (ego) identity and concerns around what happens when the body fails. Within this work we consider how every choice we make from daily activities to major life decisions might be traced to an embodied desire. At the same time we explore how, at an ontological level, human beings (and especially dancers) deeply base our identities on what our bodies look like and what we love doing with them. Finally, we consider the fragility of this very common standpoint, given the body will inevitably "fail" - either literally/physically through injury or death, or according to cultural constructs of embodied beliefs. Working collaboratively within an embodied research paradigm, the dancers and artistic director question: How do we cope with an identity source that is temporary and under constant social attack? Can we dig out our own beliefs regarding anti-fat bias and thin privilege as well as racism, ableism, healthism, and the moralization and medicalization of "wellness?" How do we confront the myths told to us about embodied failure and success, and re-write/re-perform personal embodied truths?
D. Patton White will share a new work created collaboratively with the performing cast that takes inspiration from the elements of water, earth, fire and air and the potential of transformation within each person. Set to the music of Enya, this new work will include video projections and relics from past projects inspired by the four elements. In seeking to find our groundedness in nature, how can we authentically interact with our fellow human beings?
Artist Bios
AK Bayer
AK Bayer is a professional dancer, interdisciplinary artist, and emerging choreographer from Atlanta, GA. After falling in love with creative expression and performance at a young age, AK began training at Atlanta Dance before continuing with Decatur School of Ballet and Decatur City Dance. Living with dysautonomia and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a systemic genetic disorder, AK navigates the intricacies of dancing with a dynamic disability. A visual artist as well, AK focuses on mixed media work and illustration. They have been creating art their entire life and love exploring identity through new mediums. AK is passionate about each of their creative pursuits but credits dance as their first love and the driving force behind their other crafts. AK is in their second season as company member with Full Radius Dance. In the last year, they have had the honor of performing freelance work from choreographers such as Patton White of Beacon Dance, Meaghan Novoa and Dani Tirrell through Velocity Dance’s Seattle Festival of Dance and Improvisation.
Leah Behm
Leah Behm (she/her) is a dance artist who is inspired by the connections and relationships between people and how that can shape the self. Working in the event and marketing industry during the day, her continued involvement in dance with local artists and as a company member with EXCAVATE BODY and Beacon Dance is very meaningful to her. As a 2021 graduate from Emory, Leah cherishes being a part of the ever flourishing dance community in ATL and all of the amazing artists and humans she has the pleasure of knowing because of it.
Madison Lee
Madison Lee (any pronouns) is a senior at Emory University studying Dance and Marketing. They were awarded the Stipe Fellowship in the Fall of 2023, and are currently conducting research for their honors thesis. Originally from Dallas, Texas, they trained intensively in hip hop and other styles and have performed with the Dallas Cowboys and Royal Caribbean Cruises. Since coming to Atlanta, they have begun training in contemporary and modern techniques and have presented multiple works throughout their time at Emory. They have gotten the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Jacque Pritz, Jacqui Hinkson, Leo Briggs, Julio Medina, George Staib, Annalee Traylor, Xan Burley, and Alex Springer. Currently, Madison is a company member with Catching Mangoes, led by Jacque Pritz, and Excavate Body, led by Jacqui Hinkson.
Ashlee Ramsey-Borunov
Grounded in the perspective that dance-making lives in the primal, physical, emotional and spiritual consciousness of all humans, Ms. Ramsey-Borunov’s artistic focus centers on collaboration, community participation and making dance available as a creative practice for all people. Ms. Ramsey-Borunov has shown work, performed or taught in North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Arizona, Austria, the U.K. and India. Her experience as an educator includes teaching dance and yoga courses at Elon University, Wake Forest University, Winthrop University, and Salem College, and she holds a teacher certification with DanceAbility International. Ms. Ramsey-Borunov has been published in the international academic periodical, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices (2011) and has presented work or research at the NDEO National Conference, The Fifth Annual Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival, and Elon University’s Intersect Diversity and Leadership Conference. Currently working in Atlanta, GA, Ms. Ramsey-Borunov performs and serves as rehearsal director with Full Radius Dance, a physically integrated professional dance company; Beacon Dance, a performing arts collective focusing on issues of social justice, equality and activism; and as a teacher with CORE Dance’s Dynamic X-Change and Morning Class programs.
D. Patton White
D. Patton White has worked as a dancer and choreographer since 1982, for the stage, site-specific work, and dance for the camera. As Artistic/Administrative Director of Beacon Dance since 1990, he has sought innovative ways to bring art to the public, including site works throughout DeKalb County parks and nature centers, the High Museum of Art, in the former Sears building in Atlanta, in Freedom Park, at the Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center, the B Complex in southwest Atlanta, the Emory University Campus, and on the Atlanta BeltLine. White was the Company Manager of Core Dance from 2008-2019, and currently teaches part time at Emory University. He has been an artist in residence at UNLV, Rice University, and Emory University, and has conducted numerous community residencies and his work has been funded by the NEA, South Arts, GCA, Florida Council on Arts & Culture, among others. He has been a member of Alternate ROOTS since 1997.
AK Bayer will be creating a new work that addresses social justice issues by using movement and performance as a tool for exploring resistance, healing, and the complexities of identity. Through the act of world-building, this work creates a space where queer joy is not just celebrated, but embodied as a powerful act of defiance against systemic oppression and assimilation. By harnessing and portraying this joy, they challenge the forces that seek to suppress marginalized voices now more than ever. In this work the act of play becomes a means of healing—offering a space to process grief, question the rituals and routines we adopt, and reimagine possibilities for a future. In this context, movement becomes an avenue for reclaiming agency, with participants finding their own roles within larger movements for social change. Children’s games and rituals, such as “the floor is lava”, hide and seek, and checking for monsters under the bed, are used as allegory to invite reflection on society’s fear of otherness/the unknown, as well as the tendency to “do the most” to deny or avoid a pressing social issue. This avoidance is often rooted in intentional ignorance, where addressing uncomfortable realities is delayed or ignored for the sake of maintaining the status quo. In my choreography, these acts of denial are confronted, forcing us to face the difficult but necessary conversations surrounding justice, equity, and belonging. Through these layered themes, their work seeks to create a dynamic world where resistance, joy, fear, and denial are not just explored through a queer lens, but reimagined, inviting audiences to rethink their roles in both personal and collective movements for positive change.
Madison Lee is creating a new work reflecting on her childhood. “The piece I am presenting this April revisits the Korean nursery rhymes, folktales, and mythologies that I heard as a child and utilizes them for compositional and movement inspiration. My cast of all Asian dancers encompasses multiple nationalities and experiences, including but not limited to growing up in the American South, being bi-racial, and growing up outside of the United States. This work investigates the morals/character traits from me and my cast members' formative stories, such as resilience, generosity, protection, sacrifice, guidance, and power. Through the movement vocabulary, the dancers research how they connect to the themes and how these traits connect us back to our Asian heritage.”
Ashlee Ramsey-Borunov will present a new work entitled Disform. This work investigates the centrality of embodied experience to (ego) identity and concerns around what happens when the body fails. Within this work we consider how every choice we make from daily activities to major life decisions might be traced to an embodied desire. At the same time we explore how, at an ontological level, human beings (and especially dancers) deeply base our identities on what our bodies look like and what we love doing with them. Finally, we consider the fragility of this very common standpoint, given the body will inevitably "fail" - either literally/physically through injury or death, or according to cultural constructs of embodied beliefs. Working collaboratively within an embodied research paradigm, the dancers and artistic director question: How do we cope with an identity source that is temporary and under constant social attack? Can we dig out our own beliefs regarding anti-fat bias and thin privilege as well as racism, ableism, healthism, and the moralization and medicalization of "wellness?" How do we confront the myths told to us about embodied failure and success, and re-write/re-perform personal embodied truths?
D. Patton White will share a new work created collaboratively with the performing cast that takes inspiration from the elements of water, earth, fire and air and the potential of transformation within each person. Set to the music of Enya, this new work will include video projections and relics from past projects inspired by the four elements. In seeking to find our groundedness in nature, how can we authentically interact with our fellow human beings?
Artist Bios
AK Bayer
AK Bayer is a professional dancer, interdisciplinary artist, and emerging choreographer from Atlanta, GA. After falling in love with creative expression and performance at a young age, AK began training at Atlanta Dance before continuing with Decatur School of Ballet and Decatur City Dance. Living with dysautonomia and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a systemic genetic disorder, AK navigates the intricacies of dancing with a dynamic disability. A visual artist as well, AK focuses on mixed media work and illustration. They have been creating art their entire life and love exploring identity through new mediums. AK is passionate about each of their creative pursuits but credits dance as their first love and the driving force behind their other crafts. AK is in their second season as company member with Full Radius Dance. In the last year, they have had the honor of performing freelance work from choreographers such as Patton White of Beacon Dance, Meaghan Novoa and Dani Tirrell through Velocity Dance’s Seattle Festival of Dance and Improvisation.
Leah Behm
Leah Behm (she/her) is a dance artist who is inspired by the connections and relationships between people and how that can shape the self. Working in the event and marketing industry during the day, her continued involvement in dance with local artists and as a company member with EXCAVATE BODY and Beacon Dance is very meaningful to her. As a 2021 graduate from Emory, Leah cherishes being a part of the ever flourishing dance community in ATL and all of the amazing artists and humans she has the pleasure of knowing because of it.
Madison Lee
Madison Lee (any pronouns) is a senior at Emory University studying Dance and Marketing. They were awarded the Stipe Fellowship in the Fall of 2023, and are currently conducting research for their honors thesis. Originally from Dallas, Texas, they trained intensively in hip hop and other styles and have performed with the Dallas Cowboys and Royal Caribbean Cruises. Since coming to Atlanta, they have begun training in contemporary and modern techniques and have presented multiple works throughout their time at Emory. They have gotten the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Jacque Pritz, Jacqui Hinkson, Leo Briggs, Julio Medina, George Staib, Annalee Traylor, Xan Burley, and Alex Springer. Currently, Madison is a company member with Catching Mangoes, led by Jacque Pritz, and Excavate Body, led by Jacqui Hinkson.
Ashlee Ramsey-Borunov
Grounded in the perspective that dance-making lives in the primal, physical, emotional and spiritual consciousness of all humans, Ms. Ramsey-Borunov’s artistic focus centers on collaboration, community participation and making dance available as a creative practice for all people. Ms. Ramsey-Borunov has shown work, performed or taught in North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Arizona, Austria, the U.K. and India. Her experience as an educator includes teaching dance and yoga courses at Elon University, Wake Forest University, Winthrop University, and Salem College, and she holds a teacher certification with DanceAbility International. Ms. Ramsey-Borunov has been published in the international academic periodical, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices (2011) and has presented work or research at the NDEO National Conference, The Fifth Annual Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival, and Elon University’s Intersect Diversity and Leadership Conference. Currently working in Atlanta, GA, Ms. Ramsey-Borunov performs and serves as rehearsal director with Full Radius Dance, a physically integrated professional dance company; Beacon Dance, a performing arts collective focusing on issues of social justice, equality and activism; and as a teacher with CORE Dance’s Dynamic X-Change and Morning Class programs.
D. Patton White
D. Patton White has worked as a dancer and choreographer since 1982, for the stage, site-specific work, and dance for the camera. As Artistic/Administrative Director of Beacon Dance since 1990, he has sought innovative ways to bring art to the public, including site works throughout DeKalb County parks and nature centers, the High Museum of Art, in the former Sears building in Atlanta, in Freedom Park, at the Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center, the B Complex in southwest Atlanta, the Emory University Campus, and on the Atlanta BeltLine. White was the Company Manager of Core Dance from 2008-2019, and currently teaches part time at Emory University. He has been an artist in residence at UNLV, Rice University, and Emory University, and has conducted numerous community residencies and his work has been funded by the NEA, South Arts, GCA, Florida Council on Arts & Culture, among others. He has been a member of Alternate ROOTS since 1997.
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