OTMJ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL u OTMJ.COM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
FALL ARTS ISSUE | THEATRE + DANCE + MUSIC + ART
Finding Community Sanspointe Dance Company to Showcase Four New Works at Outdoor Performance
By Emily Williams-Robertshaw
A
new show by Sanspointe Contemporary Dance that tells the story of the evolution of a “sense of community” during the pandemic will debut Sept. 24-25 at the Children’s Fresh Air Farm in Bluff Park. The modern dance “Here” was sparked by conversations organization officials were having in 2020 as they struggled to plan a new season amid many unknowns, said Sanspointe Artistic Director Anna Foshee.
“We were asking ourselves questions about how we lost (community), … how it felt to lose it and how we found it again,” she said. Sanspointe was founded in 2003 and operates out of The Dance Foundation in Homewood, where many of its leadership team, including Foshee, teach other forms of dance. Foshee, a Hoover resident, has been dancing with the company since 2009. She took over her current leadership role in 2016 with co-Artistic Director Sara Wallace. The company provides contemporary dance opportunities to the community through performances, community classes, elementary and mid-
See SANSPOINTE, page 13
UAB Doctors Urge Pregnant Women to Get Vaccinated By Rubin E. Grant Dr. Jessica Grayson understands COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women and those wanting to become pregnant in the future. It’s why she took part in two of four recent online panel discussions via Zoom that the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine presented and that discussed the latest information available on the pandemic. Grayson, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Otolaryngology, was joined by two other UAB doctors who treat women and expectant mothers. They ‘I got my first urged pregnant women to Pfizer vaccine get vaccinated, and Grayson on December discussed her own journey the 18th when receiving the vaccine while pregnant. I was 21 weeks “I got my first Pfizer pregnant, and vaccine on December the 18th when I was 21 weeks I was really pregnant, and I was really excited for the excited for the opportunity to keep myself and my baby opportunity to safe,” Grayson said. Grayson said she had no keep myself and complications after receiving my baby safe.’ both doses of the vaccine DR. JESSICA GRAYSON and had a successful delivery in April. “My child is growing normally,” she said. “He’s 4 months old. He’s hit every milestone. He’s happier than my other kid at baseline, but I don’t think that’s vaccine-related. It just happens to be his personality.” Grayson hopes other expectant mothers will get vaccinated to save lives and babies. “There are too many mothers who will never meet their baby because of COVID, and there are too many babies who See VACCINE, page 7
Photo courtesy UAB
SOCIAL
Photo courtresy Sanspointe Contemporary Dance
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