In the years 1973-1990, General Augsto Pinochet was head of the military dictatorship in which he ruled the country of Chile. His power of being involved with the military overthrough the government which deposed democratic socialist President Salvador Allende. This power was called the violent coup, which is a violent and illegal seizue of power from the governement which assumes political control of the government. In his time of being dictator, he has been accused of using his position to pursure personal enrichment and extensive human rights violations. He was also arrested then released, then arrested again and prosecuted by the Chile government.
A dancer who was influenced by the war in which Pinochet caused was Christopher Bruce. Bruce was born in 1945 and moved to Scarborough not long after he was born. By the time he was 13, he was awarded a scholarship to the Ballet Rambert School after studying tap and ballet. He emerged as one of the company's leading dancers in 1966 after performing many solo parts in Rambert's classical repertory. Over Bruce's time, he has choreographed and won many awards which include, Cruel Garden, Ghost Dances, Sergeant Early's Dream, Moonshine, Swansong and Rooster. When choreographing, Bruce often chose political or socal conscious themes. he used socilal themes as a source of inspiration for his dance works. In 1981, he choreographed a dance piece called Ghost Dances which was influenced by records given to him by a folk group about the civil war in Chile. The overall dance piece is about the suffering of the people in South America from