Dance of the Forgotten -Digital Collage

The last weekend of October witnesses the Dance of the Forgotten, a ritual whereby our city pays homage to the scores of departed anonymous bachelors for whom there are no memories. Municipal historians spend months pouring over public records and death certificates to identify men with no attachments. What follows is the very difficult work of finding photos of each forgotten man. In late July young women vie for one of the coveted roles of Image Bearer. Between then and October, they undergo rigorous training. On the appointed day each young woman takes up a hand-turned ash wood hoop bearing a bachelor's image. What follows is a tightly choreographed four-hour ballet during which the young women dance and converse with their bachelors. The ceremony concludes with each Image Bearer giving a chaste kiss to the cheek to her "date" before returning it to a display set along the quay. It is the hope of our community that in performing the Dance, these lonely departed souls experience a romance that had eluded them in life.