Gail Lyons-Hawkins

Gail Lyons-Hawkins, affectionately known as Mama Gey, is a dancer, writer, choreographer, teacher, visual artist, actress and historian.  She was born and raised on the East Side of Buffalo, New York, the Hamlin Park District.  She is the daughter of the late Jimmy Lyons, Buffalo’s first full time Black radio personality and the late Ruth F. Lyons, one of the pioneer teachers in the Early Push Program. Growing up on Northland Avenue, her family’s home was full of music, dance, education, laughter and love.

 

Ms. Lyons-Hawkins is a product of the Buffalo public’s school system and she began formal dance lessons at the age of 3 at the Seenie Rothier School.  She has been dancing all her life, most notably doing the twist at the age of 7 with older sister JoAnne on stage at the Apollo Theatre on Jefferson Avenue during Amateur Night that their father Mr. Lyons had famously established during the early 60’s.  While attending Bennett High School, she performed in the Inter-Racial Researcher’s program “Heartbeat”, under the direction of the late Mrs. Ora Curry.  Her senior year she began taking dance classes at the Humboldt “Y” under the instruction of Carol Welsh (Kariamu Welsh-Asante).  

 

Upon graduation from Bennett High School she became a member of the Black Dance Workshop, the professional company of the School of Movement.  She was then accepted into Simmons College in Boston, MA.  There, she founded her own dance company the Imani Dance Workshop.  She was invited to help form the Pan-African Dance and Drum Company Boka N’Deye and was elected Women’s Dance Captain.  The company was instrumental in bringing Senegalese and West African djembe dancing and drumming culture to the Boston area.  The company toured the Black colleges of the South during the early 70’s. In 1976, Ms. Lyons-Hawkins travelled to Dakar, Senegal to further the study of the dance and music.  

 

In 1977, she returned to Buffalo and rejoined the Black Dance Workshop for Dancemobile where she met drummer and percussionist Mr. Emile Latimer, and the pair united both spiritually and professionally.  They founded the Sounds and Echoes of Yemenja dance and drum company in Buffalo, opening the door for djembe drumming and dance culture.  The group’s first gig in Buffalo was opening for the Concert of the Century at Kleinhans Music Hall featuring Master Drummer Mongo Santamaria (1978). Sounds and Echoes performed extensively throughout WNY and offered Spirit of Dance and Drum classes.

 

Ms. Lyons-Hawkins has also served as a teaching artist in the M.U.S.E. program for many years in the public schools.  She has been an actress with the Ujima Theatre Company under the direction of Ms. Lorna C. Hill (For Colored Girls…, The Amen Corner & Ain’t Supposed to Die…) and has served as choreographer for several plays (And Bid Him Sing, Once On This Island, In De Beginning).

 

Ms. Lyons-Hawkins is the proud mother of Lil Peanut, Kunjané, Isaiah, Jimmy Jr. and Yanava and the proud grandmother of Endaya and Jayden.  She is humbly grateful for the many gifts of Life and Love with which Goddess has blessed her.