Article by Roxana Lopez

March 7, 2020

A portable stereo is playing Cyndi Lauper’s, “Time after time”, softly in the background.

Five soldiers are packing their back packs, and teasing one another.

Slowly the music fades out and the portable stereo is flooded with news outlets of the Iraq War. So, begins the award-winning, five-star work of, 5 SOLDIERS: The Body is the Front Line, by, Rosie Kay Dance Production.

Heading straight into a drill line with their bodies and breaths in sync, 5 SOLDIERS is a captivating performance that humanizes life in the army for men and women in the military.

Choreographed and directed by Rosie Kay, 5 STORIES, was created in 2006 in Great Britain. At the time, Rosie Kay suffered a devastating injury to her left knee on stage.  Even more traumatic was that she was told she would never be able to dance again. Restless nights found the British choreographer watching late night news on TV. Image after image of soldiers preparing for battle resonated with her and seeped into her dreams. In a vivid dream Rosie Kay was lying in an open desert battlefield with her leg detached from her body. Leaving her to question, how does one prepare to risk their life for their job? With no political stance on war this performance focuses rather on the demands requested of U.S. soldiers. 

In 2008, British choreographer Rosie Kay joined the 4th Battalion the Rifles, to participate in full battle exercises, and visited the National Defense Medical Rehabilitation Centre to begin her research. The result is a must-see performance of pain, healing, and resurrection.

The ten-year anniversary tour kicked off last month in Northern California and was presented this past weekend in San Diego’s historic Liberty Station. The tour also debuts Rosie Kay performing for the first time in her own production.

Each performance included a panel discussion with the company and local active and retired military.

For more information please visit: http://rosiekay.co.uk/