“… I first read Lord of the Flies as a teenager. I remember being struck by its raw depiction of human nature and the breakdown of order. Over time, my understanding deepened what once felt like a dark adventure story now revealed itself as a complex reflection on power, fear, and the fragile constructs of civilization…”
So says choreographer Jennifer Archibald about her engagement with the classic novel that is oft-taught in middle school or high school literature classes, to students roughly the same age as the main characters in the novel. It’s likely a sentiment shared by many of us. We remember that the book has a great impact on us, but we know our adult selves can register the meaning of the story on a far deeper level.
Choreographer Jennifer Archibald has taken us on her journey of understanding Lord of the Flies also through the lens of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The result is Maslow’s Peak—a full-length choreographed work for BalletX that more than meets BalletX co-founder and artistic director Christine Cox’s quest for “new works that are daring, adventurous and bold”.
Here, Picture This Post (PTP) talks with Jennifer Archibald (JA), exploring how she approached translating how her understanding of Maslow’s philosophy informed her translation of the classic novel into the engaging dance titled Maslow’s Peak.
(PTP) When did you first encounter the concepts of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Maslow’s Peak and how did your understanding of these as you worked on this piece?
(JA) I first encountered Maslow’s Hierarchy during early studies, but it wasn’t until this choreographic process that it truly resonated. As I explored Lord of the Flies through movement, the shift from basic survival to the collapse of higher needs belonging, esteem, self-actualization became a powerful lens for shaping physical tension, group dynamics, and the fragility of order.
What are the challenges of translating a literary work like Lord of the Flies to a dance piece?
Translating Lord of the Flies into dance means capturing its psychological and moral complexity into a physical response. The challenge lies in embodying its shifting dynamics and symbolism while resisting overly literal storytelling. With Maslow’s hierarchy, the difficulty is in expressing abstract needs like esteem or self-actualization through movement. It requires translating invisible internal states into visible relational patterns, spatial choices, and emotional tension.
What do you require from the dancers to bring Maslow’s Peak alive?
Maslow’s Peak required dancers to engage with heightened emotional and conceptual depth, embodying shifting states of need, power, and connection. This process relied on collaborative inquiry using improvisation, dialogue, and reflective tasks to explore how Maslow’s hierarchy manifests physically. The dancers interpretive agency was central to translating abstract psychological concepts into embodied, spatial language.
What are the choreographic opportunities that Lord of the Flies and Maslow’s philosophy presented to you?
Lord of the Flies and Maslow’s philosophy opened choreographic opportunities to explore the body's response to shifting power structures and unmet needs. The descent from order to chaos allowed for a progression from unison, grounded movement to fractured, erratic patterns, mirroring the collapse of social cohesion. For instance, motifs of reaching and withdrawal embodied the tension between belonging and isolation, while sharp directional shifts and level changes reflected instability and threat. The dancers were asked to move with psychological intentionality, carrying internal states like fear, dominance, or yearning into each gesture, making the movement a lived negotiation rather than a performed sequence.
How has our current political and cultural landscape informed your work on Maslow’s Peak?
Maslow’s Peak reflects patterns of human behavior that surface in any context where structure falters and values are tested. The themes of Maslow’s Peak, the need for connection, the fragility of order, and the search for purpose, resonate across time. The core questions it explores are timeless; it’s both of this moment and beyond it.
What impact do you want Maslow’s Peak to have on the audience?
My goal is for the audience to feel a visceral connection to the dancers emotional journeys and perhaps even recognize something of themselves in the work. I found the audience was excited about a deeper dialogue, shared personal interpretations, and audiences of all ages shared a personal connection. These moments of connection and reflection are exactly what I hope to evoke.
Editor’s Note: Watch an early performance snippet of Maslow’s Peak highlighted by the Works & Process series at the Guggenheim—
For more information visit the Jennifer Archibald website and the BalletX website.
All performance images by Whitney Browne.
All images courtesy of BalletX.
