Unique artwork will celebrate the 'living' Glenfeshie
A unique new live artwork, inspired by Nan Shepherd’s masterpiece, The Living Mountain, is bringing together dance, song and a guided walk in Glenfeshie this weekend.
Into The Mountain, the first project of its kind, has been developed over the past six years by artist and choreographer Simone Kenyon, in collaboration with hundreds of women who live and work in the Cairngorm Mountain Range.
At the project’s heart is The Living Mountain, Nan Shepherd’s celebrated book charting her own journeys into the harsh yet beautiful Cairngorm range.
Written in the 1940s during the Second World War, the Aberdeen writer’s book remained unpublished until 1977, and has recently been championed by luminaries of nature writing, including Robert Macfarlane – her most famous quote ‘It’s a grand thing to get leave to live’, appears on the Scottish £5 note – and another line ‘I have walked out of my body and into the mountain’ is evocative of the guiding principles in this project.
The project also celebrates the Scottish Sculpture Workshops 40th anniversary.
Each Into The Mountain performance is open to just 30 audience members, led in small walking groups (offering a short, mid and long-range route) through the famous glen so vividly described by Shepherd in her timeless account.
The groups will converge within the landscape at which point they will witness a choreographed performance by five dancers (Jo Hellier, Claricia Parinussa, Caroline Reagh, Keren Smail and Petra Söör) moving in collaboration with the mountain ecology. Their performance will be accompanied by a vocal score composed by artist Hanna Tuulikki, which will be performed by the Into The Mountain choir, made up of women local to the Cairngorms and led by vocalist Lucy Duncombe.
Into The Mountain is commissioned by Scottish Sculpture Workshop and co-commissioned by Cairngorms National Park Authority, City Moves Dance Agency, Dance North Scotland and Tramway.
The project is also supported by Mountaineering Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council and Creative Scotland. Into The Mountain takes place in Glenfeshie, with thanks to Wildland Ltd.
Performances will take place today (Thursday, May 30, for stakeholders), Friday 31 May (public), Saturday 1 June (public) and Sunday 2 June (public). Tickets are available from www.intothemountain.co.uk and Eventbrite.
