WW1-inspired dance at Imperial War Museum North

A moving performance of Russell Maliphant’s Second Breath was performed at Imperial War Museum North as part of the Museums at Night after-hours festival.

In a bold move, English National Ballet accepted an invitation to recreate this work, for one day only, in the museum’s main gallery space amongst war-themed exhibits and artefacts. The company had only a few hours in which to stage, light and rehearse the work before giving two performances that evening - the second of which was streamed live on BBC Arts.

Russell Maliphant

The ballet was inspired by photographs and letters from IWM's World War One collection, with Maliphant's choreography exploring themes of waste and sacrifice.

It premiered in April 2014 as part of English National Ballet's Lest We Forget programme, alongside new works from Akram Khan and Liam Scarlett.

Canadian-born Maliphant trained with the Royal Ballet School and formed his own dance company in 1996, working with renowned performers including Sylvie Guillem. His work Broken Fall, created for Guillem, won an Oliver Award in 2003.