Moon Rising

With themes of return and renewal, hope and regeneration, Moon Rising considers our place within and outside of time. Intertidal rhythms move with the body of the performer, surges of life bound by celestial influence, speaking of our shared connection to the sea through rhythms and cycles: of breath, of fertility, of the emergence of life and death. 

The work engages in a material and symbolic relationship with salt, which holds the power to preserve, heal and transform, present in both the body of the performer, and in the waters of the Llŷn Peninsula. Reflecting on the etymology of place, the work emerges from stories of the historic labour of this region – including past fishing practices and salt smuggling. The continued practice of fishing for herring in the lead up to a full moon, is known locally as moon rising. 

The choreography is informed by the contrasting disciplines of Ballet, where the core principles of balance, coordination, and poise are fundamental, and Butoh, embodying the elemental, resistance to tradition, and cycles of transformation. 

A collection of paleo-tidal source data from Bangor University drives the sound composition, with vocals by Emma Daman Thomas, who performs the 18th century Welsh Folk song Tra Bo Dŵr Y Môr Yn Hallt (While There's Salt Within The Sea). Bringing the struggle of aquatic life in the context of climate collapse into dialogue with the struggle of feminine bodies throughout history, the work asks what we can learn from these watery relations and primordial intra-connections. 

Performed by: Melissa Pasut 

Directed + Produced by Angela Davies 

Vocals by Emma Daman Thomas 

Sound Design: Angela Davies 

Filmed by Jamie Quantrill + Angela Davies 

Edited by Mark Eaglen + Angela Davies 

Commissioned by IVAE with support from Arts Council Wales, Plas Glyn y Weddw