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[NS]Annual breast cancer gala inspires art, hope

INDIANA–A diamond ring and an interpretive dance aren’t things one normally would associate with breast cancer. But Indiana’s fourth annual Love of Life Gala, held Saturday at First Commonwealth, brought the two together in an effort to raise money for and awareness about the disease.A benefit for the M. Dorcas Clark Women’s Imaging Center at Indiana Regional Medical Center, the event also included the unveiling of an annual donation to the cause: jewelry created by local jeweler Gary Wyant.

According to Debbie Woods, executive director of the IRMC Foundation, the Love of Life Gala strives to draw the interest of the community.

“Each year has been unique, and we try to do something different every year,” Woods said.

This year, the event boasted a cultured agenda of interpretive dance by the group Abraham.In.Motion, led by choreographer Kyle Abraham, a show featuring fluid works by local painter Julie Engelmann and a presentation by Amy Hupko, who talked about her recent charity trek for breast cancer research.The Love of Life Gala kicked off the sale of raffle tickets for a chance to win this year’s unique jewelry prize–a ring called “Infinite Solace,” donated by Wyant and his wife, Stacy.

The platinum and diamond ring was designed and hand-crafted by Wyant. Its one-carat radiant cut center diamond is accented with 31 additional diamonds.

Wyant said he based the design on motion and was influenced by the pink ribbon that has become a symbol of the battle with breast cancer.

“The ribbon looks a lot like the ripples created when a pebble is dropped into a pond,” he pointed out. “The outreaches of the ripple, they keep getting bigger and bigger.”

He said that reminded him of the growth of the Love of Life event, and the magnitude of work and support offered by people in the community.

Raffle tickets will be on sale through June 14, the day of the Jimmy Stewart Airport Air Show, where the winner will be drawn.

As in years past, monthly incentives for top tickets sellers are being awarded, with ticket sales coordinated by JoAnn Hauck and Viona Sesti.

The incentives this year, all provided by S&T Bank, include an autographed football signed by Jerome Bettis (in March); two tickets to the Pittsburgh Pirates Home Plate Club, including dinner and a game (April); two autographed books by Bettis and a signed Pittsburgh Penguins hockey puck (May). This year’s grand prize for top overall ticket sales is a $1,000 gift card from Southwest Airlines.

Saturday’s dance entertainment was choreographed by Abraham specifically for the event and was commissioned by First Commonwealth Bank. He said the bank was “very generous, helping me with my last performance in the New Hazlett Theater in Pittsburgh in December.”

Abraham’s gala piece was inspired by background information he learned about the Wyants, including that their annual Love of Life gift is made in memory of grandmothers they lost to cancer.

“I was immediately drawn to some of the information I was given about the Wyant family and their donations,” Abraham said. “I wanted to create the duet and I named it after their family.”

The duet, titled “In Memory: Wyant for 2,” was performed Saturday by dancers Amber Lee Parker and Katelyn Skelley, set to the melody of “J–hannsson” by J–hann.

“The dance was created based upon the diagnosis, treatment and cure of cancer, what one goes through, what the family goes through,” noted Gary Wyant. “It was very interesting.”

“A lot of it is about support, whether it be friends or loved ones, and how we approach supporting each other,” Abraham said.

He specifically designed the duet to be “in the round,” so that the audience could observe the piece as a “living sculpture from every angle.”

Before the show, Abraham danced two solo numbers.

The first, a piece set to Fiest’s “Limit to Your Love,” was very “robotic and quirky,” he noted.

For his second solo, he incorporated gestures from the audience into the piece, choreographed to a movement from Handel’s opera “Serse.”

Abraham lives in Pittsburgh but works between there and Brooklyn, N.Y. “I had a great time,” he said. “I think everyone really enjoyed it. It was a great experience to be a part of.”

“It was very nice, very elegant,” Woods said of the performance. “It was interpretive dance, so everyone was able to interpret their own thoughts and feelings about breast cancer, have their own emotions.”

This year’s gala also showcased a quilt made years ago in honor of loved ones who battled breast cancer.

In the mid-1990s, members of the Indiana County Cancer Coalition canvassed the county, soliciting names of breast cancer survivors and of those lost to the disease for inclusion on the quilt, which was designed and created for the group by Jane Coleman of Brush Valley. The quilt has traveled to various areas of the county, as a reminder of those lost to breast cancer and a sign of hope to those who have survived.

At the request of First Commonwealth, Indiana Art Association Co-President Julie Engelmann staged an art show to coincide with the Love of Life Gala. “First Commonwealth wanted a work ‘in motion,’ because of the dance,” she said.

So Engelmann went through her collection of personal artwork and chose pieces that she felt demonstrated movement. The resulting exhibit, titled “Dance of Light,” includes 19 pieces that will be on display 9-4 weekdays through April 4 in the First Commonwealth headquarters at Sixth and Philadelphia streets, Indiana.

The main piece in the display is “Aorta,” an abstract work she feels demonstrates vitality. “It has a lot of energy,” she said. The piece incorporates a warm yellow hue offset by blue, with a red streak through it.

“It has a flow to it that is like blood moving through the vein,” she said. “It’s a very spiritual painting, abstract.”

Many of the paintings shown in “Dance of Light” have been shown at the La Fond Galleries in Pittsburgh.

Last year’s Love of Life effort raised $26,000 for the Women’s Imaging Center.

Anyone wishing to purchase tickets for a chance to win “Infinite Solace” may call the Indiana Healthcare Foundation at 724-357-8053. Tickets may also be purchased at Wyant Fine Jewelry, 716 Philadelphia St., Indiana, where the ring is on display.

For more about Abraham. In.Motion, visit www.abrahaminmotion.org.

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Amy Hupko of Indiana has proven she’s willing to go the extra mile in the battle against breast cancer. Last fall, she walked 60 miles in three days raise money for research targeting the disease.

Hupko’s employer, First Commonwealth, was one of her sponsors for the Breast Cancer Three Day event, which took place Oct. 5-7 in Philadelphia. The walk is held at different times in various cities throughout the United States, with proceeds benefiting organizations that fund breast cancer research, such as the Susan G. Koman Foundation.

Hupko shared her experiences at the event with those attending Saturday’s Love of Life Gala, a local breast cancer fund-raising event held at First Commonwealth’s Indiana headquarters.

More than $5 million was raised at the Philadelphia event last fall, with Hupko contributing an estimated $2,400 through her sponsorships.

It was the first year Hupko participated in the event, after learning about it in a television commercial.

“That caught my attention and I thought I’d check it out,” she said. “I thought it was something I could do.”

She decided to walk in memory of her grandmother, Grace Matthews, whom she lost to breast cancer 15 years ago. A friend, Laura Grundusky of Blairsville, decided to join her on the three-day journey.

They began training shortly after they registered in February and, by late summer, they were walking up to 12 miles at a clip. In September, as a trial, Hupko finished a 20-mile trek.

“It gave me confidence knowing I could do that,” she said.

The walk consisted of three different 20-mile routes, one for each day of the event. The routes led them through downtown Philadelphia, so they were able to take in such sights as the Philadelphia Museum of Art (made famous in “Rocky”) and the zoo as they walked. Every four miles, they would stop for a drink and a snack or meal.

Each day’s walk ended in the same park, where there were two-man tents, a medical shelter and portable toilets and showers.

“They had this whole little community set up for us,” Hupko said.

The walk was a moving experience for Hupko. Everywhere they went in the city, they were greeted with cheers and thank-yous.

She quickly learned not to ask her fellow walker their stories.

“It was very emotional,” she said. “After a point, I stopped asking people because I’d start crying. It’s hard to walk and cry at the same time.”

Hupko was touched by the experience. “I’d like to do it again,” she said, though it won’t be this year.

“It was an amazing experience. If there is anyone looking for a way to challenge themselves, yet raise money for a great cause, this is the perfect way to do it,” she said.

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