In April 2025 Melanie Lane choreographed the third movement of Oliver Leith’s will o wisp as part of Refractions, produced by Manchester Collective, and presented at the Bridgewater Hall and Southbank Centre. Watch Lane discuss her choreography, soundtracked by Leith’s music, here.
Refractions sees a musical and choreographic evolution take place over the course of its five parts, moving from a more classical style to contemporary dance, and from acoustic to electronic music. ‘magic’, the third movement of will o wisp, sits in part three of the piece: ‘What Ghosts, Echoes, Shadows, Emerge between the Ruins?’ Its uncanny atmosphere is complemented by music from György Ligeti, J.S. Bach, and electronic music pioneer Clark. “The ruins saturate the air, like dust unsettling or particles of fog and within that haze and cloud, something new and transgressive is created.”
will o wisp is a 19-minute piece for string ensemble is cast in four movements - ‘boom push fairy spook’; ‘rot spook’; ‘magic’; ‘knot face’. It bears several hallmarks of Leith’s style: gradual and slight alterations in pitch and harmony, using finely-calibrated microtones; monolithic figures that sit atop more gentle textures; slow repeating gestures whose meaning transforms over time. Lower strings imitate alpine horns, and in the final movement a solo violin dances freely over the rest of the ensemble. It was premiered by Manchester Collective in 2022 and appeared with Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, who co-commissioned the piece, in February 2024.