Harbour House is showing ‘Bowland Beth’, a collaboration between Kingsbridge-based choreographer Catherine Seymour and film maker David Lefeber, inspired by the poem ‘Bowland Beth’ by David Harsent, with a score composed by Rob Godman and danced by Zoe Arshamian. The poem is an elegy to Beth, a Hen Harrier born and tagged on the wild moors of the Forest Bowland in Lancashire and illegally shot before she could breed. Seymour and Lefeber’s collaboration with Harsent, Godman and Arshamian shines a light not only on Beth’s story, but on the plight of the Hen Harrier in the face of the grouse shooting industry. This is part of Harbour House’s ongoing programme strand exploring themes around nature, the environment and climate change, shaped by our conversations with students at Kingsbridge Community College.

The exhibition brings together Harbour House’s  art and movement for wellbeing programmes together for the first time and also marks the first time that Harbour House has programmed free movement-based workshops for the community.

The performance and the exhibition are free to attend and open to all, and there is a free drop-in movement-based activity in the gallery resource area.

Catherine Seymour is a Kingsbridge-based choreographer and resident yoga teacher at Harbour House. The intersection between arts and music is at the heart of her choreography practice and as a yoga teacher she aims to bring students to greater mental and physical ease to create space for new creative ideas and inspiration. David Lefeber is a classical-music record producer/sound engineer and filmmaker, specialising in performance and arts. His practice includes music-performance films and arts documentaries. 

Catherine and dance educator Lauren Pomfret, an expert in accessible movement for all,  will be leading several ‘Sky Dancer’ workshops relating to the exhibition, exploring the flight and life of the Hen Harrier and other birds through mark making and movement. The workshops will be open to different generations in the local community including children at Kingsbridge Community Primary School, students at Kingsbridge Community College and the over 55s. An intergenerational workshop for all ages is then offered, and the work made by the community during these workshops will form part of the final exhibition. Two of the workshops will be open to the public and bookable via Harbour House’s eventbrite.

The exhibition will open at 6pm on Friday February 2 at Harbour House with a dance performance by Zoe Arshamian, choreographed by Catherine Seymour at 6.45pm. The exhibition continues until March 9.