WOMEN OF RESISTANCE to Be Presented at New Tampa Performing Arts Center

WOMEN OF RESISTANCE, an immersive production combining dance, art, and music, will be presented March 25 and 26 at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center in Tampa, Florida.

The work honors seven women whose actions during World War II shaped the fight against fascism and oppression: Hedy Lamarr, Nancy Wake, Josephine Baker, Andrée Peel, Noor Inayat Khan, Lee Miller, and Virginia Hall. Through a series of performance vignettes, the production explores their lives as spies, couriers, radio operators, artists, and resistance fighters.

The project originated with artist and co-producer Vicki Chelf after she visited a Resistance museum in France and began researching the women whose stories were featured there. Chelf first created a series of portraits inspired by the figures before expanding the concept into a stage work in collaboration with composer Warren Slim Williams. Since 2021, the team has developed the production through a nonprofit organization and collaborations with eight choreographers. Early performances were presented in the gallery where the original paintings were exhibited.

The performance uses dance, music, and visual art to depict the lives and experiences of the seven women while examining themes of courage, sacrifice, and resistance. Each vignette highlights how women from different cultural backgrounds contributed to the wartime resistance movement and challenged both fascism and social barriers.