"The night before we started filming, I was sleeping and, literally, the ghost of Ann Lee was over my bed with angels around and she said: Go forth! Was that my imagination allowing myself to go forth? Maybe, probably. It was so intense that I will never forget it."
"To be an artist, you have to believe in more than just what you see in front of you. It's a concoction of faith and drive, a little delusion and a lot of energy. Like gunpowder. Lee definitely had those qualities, leading the Shakers to the US, preaching piety, pacifism, celibacy and the confession of sins."
"She was an artist, without a doubt. Maybe in a different time Lee would have been an artist? The Shakers worshipped with chanting and dancing. In the film, we see Lee in Manchester in a sweat-soaked room full of people whose hands raise to the sky, then drop and slap on their chests, rhythmic fervour rising to a boil."
Celia Rowlson-Hall choreographed The Testament of Ann Lee, a film directed by Mona Fastvold starring Amanda Seyfried as the leader of the 18th-century Shaker sect. Rowlson-Hall describes experiencing a vivid spiritual vision before filming began, which she interprets as either imagination or genuine supernatural contact. She views Ann Lee as an artist whose religious visions functioned similarly to creative inspiration, requiring faith, drive, delusion, and energy. The film depicts the Shakers' worship practices through rhythmic dance and chanting in sweat-soaked rooms, with music composed by Oscar-winner Daniel Blumberg based on surviving Shaker hymns. The resulting film operates as an unconventional musical exploring the intersection of spirituality, movement, and artistic expression.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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