Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project

About the Production

Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project is a full-length contemporary ballet and Holocaust education partnership that promotes the protection of human rights against bigotry and hate through arts, education, and public dialogue.

CONCEPT/CHOREOGRAPHY: Stephen Mills | MUSIC: Steve Reich, Evelyn Glennie, Michael Gordon, Arvo Pärt and Philip Glass

To view KLRU’s Emmy Award-winning documentary “Producing Light,” click here.

Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project is a multi-faceted work, which at its core, seeks to use dance as a convener of conversation around issues related to the protection of human rights against bigotry and hate. Illuminated through the tragic personal story of Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren, the dance takes the audience on a journey that is simultaneously situated in the past while making relevant connections to the present. We watch as a young woman’s journey takes her from the comfort of a loving family with a rich cultural history to a place of unimaginable degradation and dehumanization. Historically, the Holocaust stands alone in its depth of destruction. And while the catastrophic loss and suffering of the victims cannot be measured, alarmingly, the history’s underlying narrative–Anti-Semitism, ‘other-izing,’ propaganda, poverty, and demonizing of migrants–continues. These issues can only be confronted through dialogue. My hope is that Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project can encourage community-wide conversation. – Stephen Mills

“I am grateful to Naomi Warren and the many survivors who shared their testimonies during the creation of this work. I am forever changed by this knowledge and hope that by my sharing Naomi’s story, others will be affected to fight indifference and intolerance when witnessed.” – Stephen Mills

• How are the issues of the Holocaust relevant in our community today?
• What is our responsibility when confronted by acts of bigotry and hate?
• What actions can we take to promote understanding in our community?

Light was most-recently was performed by the Nashville Ballet in February 2018, following Ballet Austin’s tour to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida in the fall of 2015. Since its world premiere in Austin in April 2005, Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project has traveled to Pittsburgh in 2009, culminating in performances by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The project returned to Austin in 2012, with 46 community partners engaged in the community collaboration. The City of Miami hosted the project next in late 2012, with performances and community dialogue hosted by The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. And in 2013, Denver, Colorado, welcomed Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project with performances by the Colorado Ballet, which was followed by the international debut of the work through a three-city tour to Israel fall 2013.

Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project continues to engage audiences worldwide in this important dialogue while making an indelible impression on the individuals who experience it and the community leaders, presenters, and artists who make it possible.

The Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project YouTube Channel houses several videos surrounding this full-length contemporary ballet and community-wide educational initiative including Artistic Director Stephen Mills’ TEDxSMU 2010 speech on Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project.

In 2005, Light / The Holocaust and Humanity Project was featured in KLRU’s “Arts In Context: Ballet Austin’s Light / The Holocaust and Humanity Project,” which won an Emmy Award. In 2012, KLRU won a second Emmy Award for its documentary “Producing Light,” which can be viewed here.

Voices on Anti-Semitism Podcast from The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

In 2013, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) invites Stephen Mills to speak as part of the Voices On Anti-Semitism—U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Podcast Series. The USHMMA is a living memorial to the Holocaust and inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide and promote human dignity.

United Nations Radio Interview

In May of 2014, Stephen Mills is invited to participate in a discussion with the United Nations on the topic of how to communicate about the Holocaust through art.

TEDxSMU – Stephen Mills – Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project

In November 2010, Stephen Mills is invited to record a TEDx Talk on his journey to create Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project.