THE PEACEMAKER (1976)

Choreography: Dr Ross McKim

Restaged & reimagined by: Siân Hopkins

Dancers: Aimee Berry, Nadia Brayley, Jessie Burrows, Bella Fanton, Grace Penny, Millie Phillips, Emiliya Rodriguez, Natalie Scott

Music: 'Taken by Death', 'Dance of the Liberated Spirits',                                    'Struggle with Death', 'Transition', 'Deliverance'

Composer: Barry Ganberg

Musicians: Ruth Boswell, Barry Ganberg, Wayne Walker Allen

Lighting: Mikkel Svak

Costume: Aylin Altinelli, Caroline Hagley

Length: 13 mins

Photography: John Pridmore - Moving Visions Dance Theatre at Norwich Cathedral

The Peacemaker (1976) was originally performed as a duet under the name 'Christe Eleison', with dancers Sue Little & Ross McKim, premiering in Lincoln Cathedral. The work explored Christ's crucifixion and was based on four characters - John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Christ, and Mary Queen of Heaven. Moving Visions Dance Theatre (McKim's cathedral dance research company) performed various iterations of the piece throughout the years. This reimagining utilises different music without spoken word (as in the Moving Visions Dance Theatre variations), and attempts to relocate the work to a theatre setting from its original cathedral performance spaces, without losing the essence or themes present. With eight dancers, the character of Mary is embodied - both Magdalene and Mother - with the dancers expressing the experience of being close to, and witnessing the crucifixion.

DIRECTOR

Siân Hopkins, Dance Lecturer at Middlesex University, is a performer, creator and teacher. She was principal artist and rehearsal director for Moving Visions Dance Theatre (2006-2018), and has danced with Inland Pacific Ballet in California, Peter McCoy Dance Company in Munich and various other projects and independent artists near and far. Siân has taught at dance institutions around the UK as well as in Japan, SIngapore, Vietnam and Canada. She is currently Contemporary Lead Lecturer for the ISTD. Choreographic commissions include site-specific and cathedral-based projects, Cantata Dramatica's choral dramatisations and collaborative screendance and theatre productions.

REPERTOIRE RESTAGING

– adding new elements to existing work

The director of the repertoire piece, Siân Hopkins, is a former dancer and rehearsal director with Moving Visions Dance Theatre. She performed  variations of 'The Peacemaker' between 2005-2016. This reimagining seeks to embody the essence of the original work and previous variations whilst capturing something new  from the current dancers. The original piece has been adapted to suit  music from the original composer and includes a newly choreographed duet. Each section has been restaged using  experience from dancing in the piece, and video footage from performances. Many elements and aspects remain as they were, with additions and changes made to suit the new performance location of a theatre, and the dancers individual artistic expression.

Costumes have been chosen by Aylin Altinelli to reflect the original Moving Visions Dance Theatre style. Lighting has been designed my Mikkel Svak who has worked on many performances of Ross McKim choreographies, reflecting and enhancing how we interpret this piece would be staged in a theatre. The original location for many of the Moving Visions works was cathedrals and other sacred spaces, including outdoor locations. Therefore, lighting was always minimal and often relied on natural lighting available at each location.

CAST