Arts Agenda - Unconventional wisdom

Whether she’s hanging from the ceiling, splashing in water or creating humorous images from a wedding dress (and she’ll be doing all three), nothing’s conventional about L.E. Udaykee’s form of dance.

A hybrid of dance, film and video arts, Udaykee’s retrospective performance mounted at 7 Stages Theatre will combine seven live dance pieces accompanied by video installations and original music. The dance works, which include humorous takes like “How to Be a Good Driver and Avoid Accidents” and “The First Fish to Walk on Land,” span from her beginning in the New York post-modern dance world to her mid-career Athens move. Having performed for national and international audiences over the years, this performance is a collaboration between Udaykee, Sabina Maja Angel and music composer Allen Welty-Green.

The event will conclude with a screening of “Amy Love,” a video interpretation of Udaykee’s work adapted by Angel. Developed after the dancer embarked on a second career as a psychotherapist, “Amy Love” is about “girlchild” sexual abuse and the healing process.

The screening of the film promises to be unconventional as well. Background shots will be projected onto a scrim with images of Udaykee projected on foam core in the foreground “for more dimension,” says Angel.

An event intended to entertain as well as educate, be prepared to enter the sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing imagination of an artist dedicated to exploring the human spirit no matter where it may lead.

Udaykee performs at 7 Stages Theatre, 1105 Euclid Ave., June 1-3. A pay-what-you-can preview will be held May 31 at 8 p.m. Regular performances are 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. and 5 p.m. Sun. $18. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Georgia Council on Child Abuse. 404-377-8158, ext. 3. www.udaykee.homestead.com.??