Dance troupe recalls Anzac sacrifice

WAR STORIES: The Crows Feet dancers tell family stories of World War I in original dance work The Armed Man.

A WOMEN'S performance troupe are bringing World War I to Carterton - in the form of dance.

The Wellington-based Crows Feet Dance Collective will be presenting their original dance work, The Armed Man, at Carterton Events Centre on Anzac Day.

The show, featuring a cast of 40, captures "the experiences of New Zealanders" during World War I, set to the anti-war mass The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins.

This will be the first time Crows Feet, formed for women aged 35 plus, has performed in Wairarapa.

Group founder Jan Bolwell said it was "appropriate" to include the region in the touring schedule as it was home to New Zealand's largest military training ground in World War I.

"Through the Featherston Army Camp, Wairarapa had a significant role to play," Ms Bolwell said. "Plus, a lot of us have friends in Wairarapa who keep asking us when we're going to come up."

The Armed Man features 32 women - aged from late 30s to 75 - and eight Maori male dancers from Whitireia Polytechnic performing contemporary dance sequences to Jenkins' 13-movement score.

While devising choreography, Ms Bolwell encouraged her company, many of whom had relatives who fought in World War I, to research their family histories.

Several of their stories are used in the narrative, including relatives' involvement in the Battle of Passchendaele and at Gallipoli.

There are also narratives of soldiers' reduced quality of life, due to gas poisoning and shell-shock - Ms Bolwell's own grandfather endured electroshock therapy - and the affect on their families.

"A lot of war history is about men's experiences, but it had a huge effect on the women and children," she said.

"The war wasn't just the boys being away for four years - it was like dropping a stone in a puddle, and having ripples run through future generations."

Ms Bolwell said she chose the score of The Armed Man because of multicultural elements - including the writings of Rudyard Kipling, excerpts from Indian epic poem The Mahabharata, poetry about the Hiroshima bombing, and the Islamic call to prayer.

To add to the multicultural flavour, the male dancers will present routines with Maori and Pacific elements, choreographed by Whitireia tutor Paora Taurima.

Ms Bolwell said she started Crows Feet in 2000, while recovering from breast cancer.

Her solo dance work Off My Chest, about breast cancer, was included in Gaylene Preston's documentary Titless Wonders.

She said having a dance troupe for older women defies societal stereotypes.

"It's a bit subversive. We're not throwing our bodies around like we're 20 - but we dance with artistry and integrity."

The performance of The Armed Man will be held on Saturday April 25, 7.30pm, at Carterton Events Centre. Tickets are available from eventfinder.co.nz