Please note this episode was recorded over Zoom in April 2021
In this final episode I chat to Rosemary Lee. Rosemary is a choreographer, director and performer. Over the past thirty years, she has created works ranging from live performances, that are often site-specific and involve a cross-section of the community, to dance films and installations.
Her work is characterised by an interest in creating a moving portraiture of both individuals and of the close performing communities she brings together.
I am lucky to have known Rosemary for quite a few years. She was instrumental in the development of my own interest between dance and working outdoors and for introducing a love of nature writing.
Both Sarah and I performed in Circadian in 2019, a piece created by Rosemary for First Light Festival which involved a cross-generational cast of 24 professional and non-professional dancers, performing on the hour every hour during the summer solstice.
Somehow Rosemary’s work manages to be both intimate and expansive about people and place. Her work is deeply touching without being overly sentimental.
She was an obvious choice to lead a walk for Wild Wander, both because of the way she works but also how she nurtures artists, always offering much food for thought. She led our final walk in the beautiful Suffolk countryside in the location of Staverton Thicks, an incredible site of ancient oaks and holly trees.It was one of those wonderful winter days when the skies are blue, the air is crisp and the low sun creates beautiful shadows across the landscape. It was a very special end to the project.