5 Soldiers, the dance show that explores war and the military

It’s 4am and the fighting is about to begin. For four hours, the Infantry has marched through darkness carrying backpacks weighing over 70lbs, but now it’s time for the real challenge. The sound of rifles firing fills the air, adrenalin starts to pump and there, in the middle of it all, is Rosie Kay. Not a soldier but a choreographer, spending three days and four nights on Dartmoor training with The Rifles, an all-male regiment of the British Army.

“It was very intense,” she recalls, “and lifting so much weight for that amount of time was really tough going. I stupidly thought they would make compensations for me, because I’m a woman and a choreographer, but they knew I wanted to be involved as much as possible.

“And although I started off as an observer who was treated like an outsider by the soldiers, because of sleep deprivation, sharing rations and just sitting around talking together, their guards really came down. Plus they could see I could keep up and was enjoying it.”

It was the first of several periods of research which Kay later poured into her award-winning dance production, 5 Soldiers. As well as her gruelling but exciting experience on Dartmoor, she took part in a mock battle on Salisbury Plain including lengthy discussions about strategy and manoeuvres, which she was surprised to find “extremely choreographic”.

A few months later, however, she saw Army life from the other side, visiting Headley Court Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey. There Kay met men she had befriended during the training exercises, now back home and dealing with complex injuries after a tour in Afghanistan.

Having been inspired to create a show about Army life when she herself sustained a career-threatening injury, Kay was fascinated by how soldiers prepare, and heal, their bodies.

“As a dancer, I can get injured – but they risk life and limb,” says Kay. “I wanted to know: how do they prepare for that? How do you train your body and mind to risk everything, and then what do you do when you are injured?

“People are surviving much more traumatic injuries now than they would have in the past, and the Army has had to adjust to that after-care and support. Visiting Headley Court was a very good counterpart to the excitement of the other world on Dartmoor.”

The subtitle to 5 Soldiers is “The Body is the Frontline”, and it was this Kay was keen to communicate. She readily admits to her own thoughts and prejudices about the military before starting her research, but as time went on, she felt compelled to portray what lies behind the facade.