Photos by Stoo Metz Photography
Mi’kmaw playwright, poet and ecologist shalan joudry’s Winter Moons stokes the embers of a contemporary dance theatrical show by honouring ancestral survival through Mi’kmaw legends and star stories at Neptune Theatre co-presented with Prismatic Arts Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia from November 12 to 24, 2024.
Produced by Nestuita’si Storytelling, Winter Moons is directed by joudry and choreographed by Sarah Prosper, a world renowned Mi’kmaw dancer. Starring storyteller Lara Lewis, Charlotte Bernard as Nukumij, Desna “Dez” Michael Thomas as Poko’si, I’thandi Munro Aknutawi’skw and Prosper as Ntuksuinu, Winter Moons follows the teachings of the L’nu (Mi’kmaw) fire keepers during the very long cold nights over the three moons of winter.
“Winter Moons tells a story of our people’s deep-rooted connection to the land and each other, as well as the endurance it takes to survive together,” says director joudry. “It’s a journey through our history and our cosmos, and it shows us what it means to carry warmth and life even in the coldest times.”
Deep in the forest, back in time, a group of fire keepers gather around to learn how to tend to the fire and keep the embers burning, as they face the challenges and harsh realities of the winter months. They are guided by Nukumij, who knows she is nearing the end of her earth walk, but wants to share her teachings with Poko’si, a young firekeeper, so she can carry the flame to keep the fire burning for generations to come.
Aknutawi’skw and Ntuksuinu join Nukumij and Poko’si on the land at a sacred ceremonial site to tend to the fire in the depths of winter. Through legends and star stories the group dances and struggles through the bitter coldness, taking it storm by storm. Together they face unpredictable weather, the cold and food insecurity during three winter moons.
As winter is a time of reflection and mourning, Aknutawi’skw, Ntuksuinu and Poko’si wade through the snow blinding sadness of grief. Together they must rally and learn how to keep the embers going like Nukumij teaches them until the Spring Equinox, when the light returns and the earth wakes up again. Their winter journey is difficult, as they face the incredible challenges of the season, loss, hungry bellies and even an encounter with a bear.
Through stories, teachings and magic, Winter Moons is rooted in a Mi’kmaw oral storytelling culture and fuses mainstream theatre and dance as a way to embody contemporary oral storytelling. It shares the traditional sky story of Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters, which has been passed down generation by generation. The story is meant to be shared around the annual cycles of the season, and orbits around the movement of the stars about the North Celestial pole.
Inspired by the Grassroots Grandmothers and Indigenous Elders, joudry’s Winter Moons is a story of the medicine keepers travelling together when the land is harsh to discover a place of ceremony that has been happening for hundreds of years across Mi’kma’ki. The production features contemporary dance, storytelling and stargazing, as the moon becomes an interactive space which illuminates the night sky, and brings the stars into the black box theatre space through a portal view from the top of a teepee. Nukumij becomes grandmother moon, as her beautiful face appears on the third moon of winter.
Winter moons is a multi-disciplinary production that will carry us through the brutal winter landscape until we reach the celebration of spring, as it honours Mi’kmaw worldviews through L’nu dances, songs, stories and teachings through film, projections and acting.
