Ballet Austin returns Stephen Mills’ Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project (LIGHT) to Austin for just the third time since its premiere in 2005. LIGHT tells the powerful story of Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren (1920-2016) and her journey as a member of a beautiful family with rich culture and traditions, to losing nearly everything. The dancer cast in the role of the Survivor in LIGHT possesses the honor of embodying Naomi and sharing her story. We recently sat down with three dancers chosen to portray the Survivor: Allisyn Paino (2005), Aara Krumpe (2012), and the current Survivor, Grace Morton. We asked them to share their experiences, how they prepared or are preparing for the role, and the impact this role has on their lives.

ALLISYN, DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE ORIGINAL 2005 PRODUCTION IN YOUR ROLE AS THE FIRST SURVIVOR.

AP: “Having the honor of premiering the role of the Survivor in 2005, I had many opportunities to speak with Naomi Warren and to hear her testimony directly from her. We visited Holocaust-related museums in Houston and New York, which helped to piece together all of the different things that you get from each source. It was a very deep dive for all of us. Growing up in New York, I learned about the Holocaust pretty significant- ly. But when it was time to put myself into Naomi’s story, there was no way I could wrap my brain around all of the things these people endured. I spent so much time with my fellow dancers going through the material and learning each other’s point of view when it came to understanding the material. Each dancer experiences a different feeling…a different journey through the project. It brought us a lot closer as a community of dancers and staff. We all leaned on eachother, so it was a really beautiful, dark, and hopeful journey.”

NOW, PUT YOURSELF INTO 2012 WHEN YOU WERE THE COMPANY REHEARSAL DIRECTOR AND HELPED STAGE THE WORK. WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE AS YOU TRANSITIONED THE SURVIVOR ROLE TO AARA?

AP: “It was a very emotional time for me. At this time, I was pregnant with my second child, so that added another level to my daily emotions. Coming from the perspective as someone who had been through the project, studied the material, and gleaned information from Holocaust survivors and their stories, it was now my opportunity to pull this all together and pass it on to Aara. This meant so much to me. I was able to say to Aara: ‘Here is my testimony, here is my journey.’ And then she took her own journey through it.”

AARA, HOW DID YOUR EXPERIENCE PORTRAYING NAOMI WARREN IN 2012 CHANGE FROM YOUR ROLE IN THE ORIG- INAL PRODUCTION IN 2005?

AK: “As a member of the original cast in 2005, I was just 25 years old and still relatively new in the Company. I danced the family scene, the box car scene, the scene we call ‘Sirens,’ and the closing scene ‘Hush.’ I understudied the movement titled ‘Ashes,’ which is probably the most intense scene in the production. I was very lucky to have been able to watch Allisyn as the Survivor. That really helped me, even though I didn’t realize that I would be dancing that role seven years later.”

ALLISYN AND AARA, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH GRACE AS SHE PREPARES FOR HER JOURNEY OF TELLING NAOMI’S STORY?

AP: “I had the honor of passing this to Aara and now to Grace, as a colleague and as a friend. We told Grace that we would help her at any time if she had a question. It’s such a personal journey for each of us. You’ll find your own path through it. In terms of the steps and the musicality, there are very definitive things that you have to master.

But in terms of becoming this character, it’s going to be a very personal journey for you. You are going to find your own pathway through it. My journey was one thing; Aara’s was different. Yours is going to be different as well.”

AK: “While my first experience as a part of LIGHT was when I was 25 years old, the second time I was 32 and had two children. It was a very different perspective. The experience changes each time LIGHT returns. You change, so your portrayal of the character changes. You’re going to have your own take on it and that’s what I’m excited to watch from Grace. Doing this type of work changes how you dance as an artist going forward. It makes you realize that how you tell the story is so much more important than those little technical details that we tend to get caught up on.”

GRACE, CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH LIGHT AND HOW THIS IS CARRYING OVER INTO YOUR CURRENT EXPERIENCE?

GM: “I first performed LIGHT when the Company was on tour in Israel 10 years ago. I was 21 years old and cast in the family scene at the beginning of the ballet, before things start to fall apart. My second stage performance was in 2015 while the Company was on tour in West Palm Beach, FL when I was cast in more scenes, and it was very intense.

I didn’t have the honor of meeting Naomi, but we have the opportunity to read her testimony. While I’ve read it a couple of times, I am going to read it again because I feel that it is really important to get to know her through her story. I do wish that I had had the opportunity to meet Naomi, but I was able to watch Aara on stage as the Survivor. It was inspiring to watch her go through her journey. We are just getting started with learning everything, but I feel that I have been able to at least look at someone and know what I am going for. This has been very helpful in the process.”

Though this journey ultimately tells the same story of Naomi Warren’s experience during the Holocaust each time it is seen on stage, the role of the Survivor is unique to each dancer that has held and will hold the role. We are honored to have been entrusted with Naomi’s life story and remain committed to telling it again and again.