Mourning, reflection, prayer and ultimately celebration were pervasive themes Saturday evening in Evans, expressed through music and movement.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners held the annual 9/11 Day of Remembrance at the Columbia County Amphitheater. As this year is the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the county took an artful turn with its annual commemoration.
“Freedom” is a ballet representing the overall story of the attacks and America’s emotional and spiritual journey through its aftermath.
“It explores many aspects of the loss and the resulting grieving, healing, recovering and return to faith among Americans following this tragic breach of America’s security by terrorists,” said Ron Jones, artistic director of the Columbia County Ballet along with his wife, Kathleen Jones. “It also celebrates the unique freedom that we have in our nation.”
The Columbia County Ballet brought choreographers Michael and Olivia Viator from Iowa as guest instructors to develop a full-length ballet to observe 9/11 anniversary. When the commissioners learned of this event, they requested to join in and offered to sponsor it.
“We were honored,” said Ron Jones.
Patriotism and reverence started and structured the evening as commissioner Dewey Galeas represented the county, leading the Pledge of Allegiance and introducing both the honor guard, presented by Columbia County Fire Rescue, and introducing Pastor Sonny Jones of Word of Life Church at Keg Creek to lead the invocation.
Sonny Jones, a Vietnam veteran, honored the armed forces as he spoke before his prayer.
“Freedom is not free,” said Sonny Jones. “It cost someone, sometimes, something; and some the ultimate sacrifice. So we’re here to remember and to thank God for the freedom we so graciously have in this nation.”
Hip Hop Augusta, a dance troupe hosted by the Columbia County Ballet, performed a set to James Brown’s “Coming to America” before the Augusta Ballet Dancers came to the stage to perform “Freedom.” The Augusta Ballet is the new name of Columbia County Ballet’s performing company.
The ballet set was arranged in three sections, each section consisting of several titled scenes emphasizing different phases of America’s experience of 9/11. The end scene of the first section was entitled “Tragedy,” the end of the second “Prayer for the Nation,” and the finale was “God Bless America.”
Michael Viator was in elementary school when the attacks occurred 20 years ago. He took what few memories he had and those of family and put it into different scenes that worked for the Columbia County Ballet, accommodating over 50 dancers of varying ages.
“I’m overwhelmed by what I see,” said Kathleen Jones. “We’ve got so much to be thankful for that this young man and his wife choreographed this. We’re just so excited that we were able to share this with so many people.”
Michael Viator and his wife Olivia note that the process of conveying the experience of 9/11 through dance is not easy, but is well within the creative and technical parameters of the artform.
“Ballets are about sharing stories,” said Michael Viator. “You tell a story, and you choreograph different parts of the story. This was a more abstract concept, hence the more modern costumes and updated music.”
Crafting the ballet set was as much about reverencing the experience as it was recreating and interpreting it.
“We had different style of dance there, just because the topic is real life,” said Olivia Viator. “To portray something that’s more heavy and personal to people, we wanted to that in the most powerful way that we could. We wanted to do it in a way that honors and supports the people that have gone through that.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff writer covering Columbia County for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
