The Bishops were meant to be the most classical of the characters with a light, strong, elegant fighting style.

I located a traditionally styled sword with a fairly wide hilt so it could be held upside-down by the blade in a cruciform fashion. In the opening of the ballet there is a funeral procession and the bishop leads the way using his sword instead of a cross.

The styling of the procession was inspired by some statues which my partner Debora saw written up in a magazine. It was a museum display of a Rodin sculpture. There were several hooded men bearing a fallen comrade on their shoulders. Evidently the faces of these men were rendered so movingly that the curator responsible for the display chose to highlight them by putting small spotlights on the floor. The beam shone upward, illuminating just the downcast face, leaving the rest of the work in an eerie dimness.

Now that’s good theater!

We had funeral capes with big hoods made up and I located some tiny lights that could be strapped onto each dancer’s finger: inobtrusive but sufficient for illuminating their faces. Although the effect only occurs briefly on stage, it was a great concept to see in motion.