'Salem,' the latest original work from Ballet Des Moines depicts witch trials

Fear is at the center of all things in "Salem" and is the first thing audiences will see on stage during the ballet.

“It became very clear throughout the research process that fear was the big motivator throughout these events, even when it comes to the best of intentions," said Tom Mattingly, the artistic director at Ballet Des Moines.

"Salem" is Mattingly's latest piece of choreography, named for the New England town where the infamous Salem witch trials were ignited in 1692. The show held its world premiere in the Stoner Theater, 221 Walnut St., last week, performing three shows over three days.

Earlier this year, Mattingly debuted another new work with Ballet Des Moines called "Of Gravity and Light," which, through dance and movement, personified celestial bodies and forces. Now, with "Salem," Mattingly aims to create a piece that embodies the suspicion of magic and the reach of human horror evoked by witchcraft.

“I always thought the witch trials would make a great subject for a ballet, it was just finding the right way to tell that story," he said. "The more that I learned about the trials and the circumstances around them, the more I was able to form in my mind what type of story we could tell.”

"Salem" doesn't depict any specific instance from the trials, rather it is an amalgamation of moments and characters Mattingly encountered over the course of his research, from husbands who protest accusations being thrown at their wives, to other women who insist the accused is in fact a witch, to priests and judges and towns folk.

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Across these archetypes, fear is influencing how they act and react. That concept helped open up the performance prospect of personifying Fear with a dedicated dancer.

“Fear has a series of duets," Mattingly explained. "It’s as if we see into the mind of the characters and see them battling with Fear and being controlled by Fear and influenced by Fear throughout the ballet.”

Igor Stravinsky's frenetic classic "The Rite of Spring," a piece that — despite being titled after the season of rebirth — focuses heavily on death and ritual sacrifice, backs much of this performance.

However, the first music audiences hear will be a more modern piece called "Qi" from composer Evan Ziporyn.

"It’s very creepy, and it actually opens the ballet with a solo for Fear," Mattingly explained. “Finding a piece of music that isn’t Stravinsky that links up well with Stravinsky was a challenge, but then I found ('Qi') and it was perfect.”

That point where the show goes from "Qi" to "The Rites of Spring" happens when the ballet company members on stage have a scene where the Lord's Prayer is recited, an action that Mattingly found a unique way to express in dance.

Blending dance and language

"We had a really lovely (American Sign Language) interpreter, Zachary Krueger, who’s come in to work with the company and he has done — he did a workshop teaching us signs," Mattingly said. "He did a translation of the Lord’s Prayer, which was very prominent in puritan life. In one of our church scenes, it begins with the entire congregation reciting the Lord’s Prayer in ASL together.”

The use of American Sign Language (ASL) in this scene not only means that the ballet has a way of reciting the prayer without verbally speaking, it also allows the performers to incorporate literal language into the dialect of dance.

There are other instances of ASL throughout the performance. Signs for "witch," "evil" and "demon" are among the recurring terms seen across the show. While these moments will be interpretable by any audience member, Mattingly hopes they provide those who know ASL with a potentially deeper level of interest.

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“A big part of our mission at Ballet Des Moines is making sure our work is accessible for everyone," he said. "One of the areas that we’re really getting into now is with the deaf and hard of hearing community. Incorporating this ASL into the ballet gives a richness to this work and a different dimension that otherwise would not have been there. Also, I’m hoping it gives an access point to those communities who would otherwise not come and see a ballet.”

This kind of work — both in terms of inclusiveness and as original work from the company — is something locals should expect to keep seeing from Ballet Des Moines as Mattingly, now nearly a year into his artistic director position, continues to become more comfortable in his role.

“We are a small but mighty organization," he said. "I think we really are a fantastic team and we really are more than the sum of our parts, it really is exponential, what we’re able to do together.”

The Stoner Theater will host three more performances this week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day, the performance will be held at 7 p.m. with tickets priced at $50.50.

More information about "Salem" can be found at balletdesmoines.org and tickets can be found through desmoinesperformingarts.org.

Isaac Hamlet covers arts, entertainment and culture at the Des Moines Register. Reach him at ihamlet@gannett.com or 319-600-2124, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 'Salem,' Ballet Des Moines' new original work shows through Oct. 29