1994

H EART on ihe Sle£'\-e.. Red nobun on the brea~t. The :>infde red loop ap– pears on Tom Hank:,.' bicep on a re– cent cover of Esquire magazine. It shows up on funeral attendees honoring his char– acter at the end ofthe film Philadelphia. You 'ee the ribbon on television, on gowns and tuxes ofsingers and 5tars at the Grammys, theOscars and other awards oc– casiom; as a show of awareness, support and compassion for people with AJDS. fl')le red ribbon is the show ofsolidarity. Where the heart comes through: a show of individuality. It might be on the sleeve. On canvas. On paper, in stained glass. in the compo ition of a photograph or the a.tn of potteJ) ere it was, atmg m ttme wttfi t e music and the feet of his student dancers. Extending beyond their yearning, out– stretched arms. Echoing in the earnestness of their faces, from the depths of their hearts. Stretching toward a vacant chair. The works Shoemaker choreographed for the Mississippi HeARTS Against AIDS compassion benefit Saturday night at Hru & Mal's in Jackson are set to music as old as the Civil War and express senti– ments as current as this AIDS crisis. Like others involved in the second annu– al event, Shoemaker turned thoughts and feelings into art -loss into gain. Funds go to help AIDS patients in Mississippi. Shoemaker, ballet master of the nearly two-year-old Madison Civic Ballet, will lead young dancers in pieces that touch on memories, death, life, loss and love. They'll perform the 15-minute segment at 8:30 p.m. on the club's dance floor. The opener is a pas de deux, Relation-

i ustrates t e trage y o a ies born with AIDS. Vacant Chair, a song about the hole a soldier's death leaves in a family holiday, in dance speaks to the pain ofa loved one's premature loss to the disease. Even the movers are moved. Annie Shir– ley, 16, of Vaughan sees the loss of inno- 1 cence in her favorite, Hard Times Come Again No More. For Cheryl Newman, 15, of Madison, "It's so sadat the end ... when we reach out for that empty chair and nobody's there. It's lonely.... It makes you feel empty in– side and it shouldn't be that way." Kara Sizemore, 15, of Ridgeland said, "You start thinking about all the people that have died - and that could be somE:– body in your family." The girls wrapped arms around each other, as ifto protect a~n:.t a sudden chill. • Sherry lucas' column appears on Tuesday. To contact her, call961-7283.