Women in Wartime: Vivandieres and Land Girls (hybrid show)
I was intrigued by the nature of a hybrid/combined show (dance, literary & historical information) about which Palma Bjarnason of Silkmoth Dance sent me information recently. Given that November 11th is Remembrance Day, it’s quite fitting that these shows will take place on Thursday November 11th (Remembrance Day), at 7:30 pm (doors at 7). The venue is St James Community Square, 3214 West 10th Avenue (at Trutch), in Kitsilano. I have mentioned earlier on Twitter how I find Remembrance Day an extremely Canadian holiday.
The focus of this show is on two historical groups of women who have been nearly forgotten these days. The first are the vivandières, or cantinières, who were supplying food and drink to army personnel in France (and various other countries) up until the time of the First World War. These women, even if attached to their units in only a semi-official capacity, wore uniforms, travelled with their regiments, and were often on the front lines alongside their families. The second group of women are the “land girls”, or members of the Women’s Land Army. Again, this was not an official branch of the military. Rather, it was an initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, to send women to take over the farming work while the men were away at war overseas.
Tickets for Women in Wartime are a mere $10 and you can buy them at the door (children under <12 $5). I have been offered one pair of tickets to give away, and since these shows will take place so soon after I launch my giveaway, I will offer the same modes of entry – comment on this post for a first entry (tell me your most vivid memory of Remembrance Day) and if you are on Twitter, you can earn a second entry by tweeting the following:
I want to win tickets to ‘Women in Wartime’ from @hummingbird604 & Silkmoth Dance. Learn more here: http://is.gd/gOTVc
Half of the proceeds from the show will be donated to Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization working to provide emergency medical care for populations in crisis. In connection with this presentation, Silkmoth Dance would also like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of all groups working to end armed conflict worldwide.
I will draw a random winner on Wednesday November 10th at 5:30pm, and will announce it as usual here (and if you are on Twitter, leave your Twitter ID on your comment so I can inform you whether you won!).
Related posts:
- Industrial and urban transformation, land use changes and storytelling
- National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women – December 6, 2010
- Empowering women in traditionally-male-dominated professions: Interurban bus drivers
- International Women Day is March 8th
- Land-use, housing and… Superman Returns!
This does sound interesting – I’d not heard of either groups before.
As for my memories of Remembrance Day, what stands out most is my memory of having assemby in elementary school and hearing the poem “In Flanders Fields”.
I saw Palma dance a few years ago in a show called “Brio”. She did a beautiful performance of a dance in military costume. I can’t remember the name of the dance but it was the highlight of the show, really elegant! I’ll be taking this one in for sure!
Remembrance Day for me is a quiet time of reflection. I don’t really think of it as a day of celebration so much as one of meditating on the necessity of ending all armed conflict. And it could be accomplished if people only believed it rather than succumbing to the rousing calls for yet another “war for peace”!