Dance celebrates Holocaust survivor's legacy

The story of a Holocaust survivor will be told through dance, 80 years after she reconnected with her family.

The Mill Arts Centre's Remarkable Dance Company in Banbury will stage the story of Naomi Warren and soldier Arthur Tyler at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum (SOFO) in Woodstock on Sunday.

Naomi, who survived both Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, sailed to the US on 15 March 1946 after Arthur, an Oxfordshire Yeomanry soldier, helped her reconnect with her family in Houston, Texas, through letters.

One of the dancers, Luca Braccia, said the performance focused "on the positive development of Naomi's life without forgetting what she had been through".

SOFO invited Remarkable Dance Company to design a performance in response to its Letters from Liberation exhibition.

It said it would "mark the 80th anniversary of this deeply moving story of hope following one of the darkest chapters in human history".

The museum said it aimed to "show what happens when people have the freedom to enjoy the galleries".

Museum director Ursula Corcoran said the dance performances, called Life Lines, were "a continuation of how the museum has celebrated the life of Naomi Warren and her legacy since 2023".

"This inspiring piece of work is a first for the museum, bringing a unique three-dimensional experience for our visitors and demonstrating how the space offers dancemakers distinctive creative opportunities as well," she said.

SOFO said in later life, Naomi - who died aged 96 in 2016 - had dedicated much of her time to educating younger generations about the Holocaust through her personal story, working with the Holocaust Museum Houston.

Oxfordshire Yeomanry was the first regiment to liberate the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where the soldiers found prisoners living in appalling conditions.

Naomi approached Arthur and asked him to write to her remaining family - notifying them that she was alive.

After eventually reaching the US, Naomi wrote to Arthur saying she had asked "very many British soldiers" to help her get in touch with her family, "but nobody did it – only you".

Dancer Luca said that as soon as he heard the story, he thought about making a dance piece.

Their preparation involved reading the letters displayed at the museum, listening to interviews and watching a ballet created in the US.

Luca said: "We focused on different aspects and then we selected the ones that we cared the most about.

"But also we didn't want to make a piece that was dark.

"We wanted to focus on the positive development of Naomi's life without forgetting what she [had been] through and then we tried to translate all these elements into movements.

"In terms of music, there will be soundscapes, spoken words, and we've been using Naomi's voice as we have edited some interviews that she gave."

Two performances will take place during the afternoon on Sunday, which can be booked via the museum's website.

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.