5th-14th June 2025 at La Hougue Bie
The Witches
In this richly textured triple bill, Ballet d’Jerri explores one of the very darkest chapters of our island’s history. The Channel Islands have been called the witch-hunting capital of Atlantic Europe. Between 1560 and 1660, sixty-five Jersey people were tried for witchcraft. Thirty-three of them were brutally executed, eight were banished from the island forever, and six disappeared in prison.
These three pieces probe this ancient wound in our history and seek to recover some of these voices – these lives – lost to fear and violence. Drawing on archival research and expert scholarship as well as Jersey’s rich culture and folk traditions, our three world-class choreographers have dived deep into this historical moment, contextualising it with similar struggles across the world and bringing it to life in a whirl of fractured narrative, emotion, abstraction, and breathtaking movement.
Guided by Jersey scholar and writer Dr Adam Perchard, they use this history to pose urgent questions about the time we live in now. Imagine a world seething with fear of the Other, marked by sexual violence and gender inequality, divided by war and conquest, and scarred by plague.
Whose world might it be – The Witches’ or ours?
Outside this tent is the 6,000-year-old Neolithic passage tomb of La Hougue Bie. Above it perches a medieval church. Below our feet, German military tunnels snake through the earth. All of them bear testament to the imminence of history. The past isn’t over: it’s right here next to us.
We would like to extend our special thanks to:
Linda Romeril
Jossia Clement
Emerson D’Abbott Doyle
Jersey Heritage
For their contributions to researching, creating, and presenting this programme.
The Programme
Dramaturg and artistic consultant Dr Adam Perchard
Mark our Ashes
Choreography Vidya Patel
Music Tracks
Costumes Manuela Fleming
Assistant and Dramaturg Akshay Sharma
Producer: Zeynep Gunaydin
Special thanks to Shammi Pithia and Geraint Jennings
Weaving:
a choreographic offering to the Witches of Jersey
Conjuring and Choregraphy Cecilia Lisa Eliceche
Secretariat Leandro Nerefuh
with the assistance of Toya
Costumes Renato Carneiro and Telma from Katuka Africanidades
Assistant Jossia Clement
Thank you to Toya, Gilsamara Moura, Friedericke and Leonel (Goethe Institut Salvador), Cristian Waman, Maite Eliceche, Saga and Lara.
Flux
Choregraphy Katya Bourvis
Composition and Sound Design Andrew Morgan
Additional Music Tracks Pearl, Gnostic State - Penneloppe Trappes; Sarabande, Orlando Act 1: No.9 ‘Ho un certo rossore’ - Handel; Prologue, Burn, Masks, Plague - Meredith Monk; Bewitched -Tv theme; He needs Me - Shelly Duvall; Witchcraft - Patience and Prudence; Chorus - Holly Herndon; Wolf - Pauline Oliveros
Costumes Katherine Watt
Artistic Consultant Lawrence Pumfrey
Assistant Asier Edeso Eguia
With Thanks to Benji Knapper, Dominic Rocca, Susan Kempster and Kate Flatt
There will be a 15 minute interval in between each piece. The programme should be approximately 2 hours in total.
A note from Helen Oliver
Taking heritage and dance together into schools
I wanted to share an update on the inspiring work we've been doing to engage young people with the history of the Jersey witch trials. We've had the privilege of going into both primary and secondary schools to explore the profound experiences of many local inhabitants during this difficult period.
In primary schools, we delivered a six-week program focused on unpacking the emotions of oppression, judgement, fear, and courage. We explored how easily we can all experience these emotions and, at times, find ourselves in the roles of both the accuser and the accused. I am incredibly proud of the children, who responded with remarkable creativity, producing incredible works of choreography that they will be performing at a primary schools' matinee at La Hougue Bie.
Within the secondary sector, I had the great privilege of collaborating with Adam Perchard and Linda Romeril from Jersey Heritage. Their extensive knowledge of this historical event truly brought it to life for the students, adding significant depth to our movement workshops led by the Ballet D'Jèrri dancers. The students embraced the project wholeheartedly, learning extracts from three of our new and innovative choreographies that the company will be performing at La Hougue Bie in June.
I am deeply proud of all the students we have worked with and their openness to engage with this project. Witnessing the impact of our presence in the community is incredibly rewarding.