Giants dance at St. Ninian’s Isle as part of unique puppet parade
GIANTS have walked the sands at St. Ninian’s Isle beach in Bigton today (Sunday) as part of an “ambitious celebration of the islands’ ancient folklore”.
The carnival, titled Giants Dance in da Simmer Dim, was led by event director and local artist Alex Purbrick, and featured 12-foot high puppets hand-crafted locally.
A parade across the beach featured puppets representing ancient giants Gryla and Flukler, a mythical njuggle called Nessa and the Midgard serpent Jormangandr from Norse mythology.
Creative workshops to build the puppets and their elaborate costumes were led by Purbrick over the past few months, while a music score was also created by Bigton Collective under the guidance of Alice Ritch.
There was also choreographed dancing in collaboration with local artists, parents and children, led by the Shetland Community School of Ballet.
The project was inspired by a family-based artist collaborative in Cornwall called The Lost Giants, who have been making giant puppets celebrating local folklore for the past three decades.
Purbrick told a recent episode of The Shetland Podcast that it had been a “real community project”.
“It’s really the community that’s come together to bring it to life,” she said.
“It’s a very different thing we’re doing. I’m hoping that it will bring some of these stories to life in a very artistic, fun, friendly, musical kind of way.”
She added she hoped that seeing the giants come to life in puppet form would “spark folk’s imaginations” and encourage them to read more about them in Shetland folklore.
Purbrick said they hoped to make the project into a short film, for those who could not be there today.
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