Legend of the Witch, Moll Dyer

Artistic Director Jane E. Caputo wrote and choreographed the ballet to convey the story of a 17^th Century witch who became an outcast for being different and, according to legend, still haunts the East coast village where she lived.

“It’s really a story about bullying. It’s about intolerance and what happens when society doesn’t accept people who are different,” said Caputo.

As the 400 year-old legend goes, Moll Dyer emigrated from Ireland to the United States in the 1600s.

Her inability to fit in with local society caused great concern and hostility. When drought and a plague afflicted the region, the villagers blamed her.

“On a frigid night during the coldest winter the village had ever seen, the community turned into an angry mob and set Moll Dyer’s home on fire. She ran away and froze to death in the woods,” Caputo explained.  Caputo spent a year researching the legend of Moll Dyer before creating the ballet and performing it before sold-out audiences in Maryland in 1999.

“It’s not a happy piece but it’s a poignant tale of bullying. Sadly, the theme is still relevant today, 400 years later. Our dancers perform the piece beautifully and emotionally. They are eager to present this important topic in performance,” said Caputo, who saw for herself the handprints in the rock that Moll Dyer allegedly clung to the night she froze to death.

Legend of the Witch Moll Dyer will be performed on Saturday, January 12 at 3 p.m. in Knight Auditorium at Barnstable High School. Admission is $10 per adult and free for students. This performance may not be suitable for children under six.