arts to people

Central to the HAI concept is performing for people in mental health facilities, nursing homes, hospitals and group homes. New York is a mecca for artistic talent, and HAI benefits from the vast number of the city’s dedicated professionals. Artists are auditioned and selected to perform on-site based on their talent and ability to communicate with HAI audiences.

In the past, prominent personalities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Big Bird, Roberta Flack, Dizzy Gillespie and Natalie Douglas have expressed their support for the program and its goals by giving special HAI on-site performances. Today, the program has an active roster of more than 500 artists who present over 1,900 performances annually at health and social service facilities.

On-Site Program
Year Began: 1969
Presents dancers, musicians, circus artists, folklorists, storytellers and more at health and social service facilities throughout New York City. The program enriches the lives of mental health consumers, the frail elderly, chronically ill persons, as well as those living with HIV/AIDS. It helps alleviate the boredom so often associated with institutional life. HAI's diverse roster of 500 artists presents primarily musical and vocal performances (80%), dance (15%) and theater (5%).

The success of the On-Site Performance Program has attracted an array of cosponsors, including the ASCAP Senior Composers Program, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Office of Mental Health, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and The Howard Bayne Fund.

EchoArts
Year Began: 1997
EchoArts, one of HAI's revenue generating arts initiatives, provides competitively priced live performances to the health and social service sector as well as to private organizations. Proceeds help HAI support its mission.

Music That Heals
Year Began: 1997
Conceived by performing artists Kathy Lord and Susan Weber, the program promotes health and wellness among seriously ill children and those with limited cultural exposure. Performances take place in hospitals, AIDS treatment facilities, hospices, homeless shelters and at a patient's bedside.

Do You Dance? YES!
"We all dance," says Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director of Buglisi Foreman Dance, which on April 20th brought an interactive ballet performance to adolescents at Rockland Children's Psychiatric Center. "We dance at weddings, we dance when
children are born, we dance at graduation. We dance at these rites of passage we go through in life. And so when I say to the children, “Do you dance?” they always say “YES!” Right away they are relating with us, they are a part of us. My heart goes out to those children who perhaps have not had the opportunity to be loved in our world. Dance is a tremendous way of allowing expression, especially when you cannot express everything in words. There is no greater reward than to be able to touch the hearts and minds of all of our children. They have all possibilities within them."

Lisa Allen of Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center conveys the effects of this Buglisi Foreman Dance performance upon the adolescents in the audience: "The performance was very unique, unlike anything we've had before. The dances were beautiful and the children seemed intrigued by what they were watching. It was difficult for most of the children to see the interpretation of the events of 9/11 in the dance, but the dance instructor was interactive and explained what certain moves represented and the children got it. Another interactive part of the show was when the dancers invited some of the children up on stage to learn part of a dance." Other staff marveled at the positivity and rapt attention of the audience. Above: Artistic Director Jacqulyn Buglisi, Buglisi Foreman Dance outreach.