Review: “Jehanne,” choreography by Leymis Bolanos-Wilmot. Presented by Sarasota Contemporary Dance at the Cook Theatre, FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Reviewed January 15; through January 17. Sarasotacontemporarydance.org.

Like the crusading French heroine for which it is named, “Jehanne,” the evening-length work inspired by the story of Joan of Arc that Sarasota Contemporary Dance is presenting this weekend as its second main stage program, has a history.

The piece, choreographed by SCD co-founder and director Leymis Bolanos Wilmott, first appeared in an abbreviated version in 2018; returned as a full-length work in 2023; and has been revised again into its present form for this, the company’s 20th anniversary season. Throughout, the story has focused not on the horrific execution of the French patron saint by burning at the stake, but rather on her influential role in the Hundred Years War, her deep religious faith and her indomitable spirit.

In 2018, Melissa Rummel was a new-ish company member, uncast in the piece, who stepped in at the last moment in a secondary role when a fellow dancer was unable to perform. She took over the lead in 2023 and now returns as a 10-year company veteran to give a seasoned, powerful and nuanced performance that underscores how far the company has come in its two decades.

She leads a band of seven other women warriors (Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers, Samantha Miller, Monessa Salley and Amber Slay as the “core army” and Sarah Affainie, Makayla Lane and Jessica Obiedzinski as the “extended army”) dressed in militaristic black tunics with leather inserts (original costumes by Teresa Gutierrez), who alternate between aiding and hampering her resolute momentum. Sisterhood, faith and physical endurance are recurring themes.

The movement is based on a Biblical passage (Ephesians 6:1-20) that details the “armor of God,” from the “helmet of salvation,” through the “shield of faith” to the “feet of peace.” Whether riding on her compatriots’ backs (as if on a steed into battle), stepping over inert bodies, or removing, with indignant dismissal, hands of restraint laid on her body, Rummel is never less than doggedly determined and utterly fierce. As are her fellow warriors, whose unison precision captures the rigidity of military conformity.

The music is played live on stage by the composer, Mark Dancigers, on an electric guitar connected to a digital recorder that allows him, in the moment, to loop in recorded phrases and add layers that lull like a repeated religious chant. The dancers’ sporadic sharp barks of dialogue — military commands or quotes from Joan of Arc’s trial (“I am not afraid. I was born to do this!”) add an edgy tension. And evocative lightening by Celeste N. Silsby Mannerud creates images of religiosity, like the stenciled shadow of a chapel’s stained glass window, or, with red filters, the blood of the battlefield.

This is a physically demanding piece — the dancers all wear knee pads — that requires nothing less than total commitment. Their ability to maximize the gritty and untamed choreography by Bolanos Wilmott is a measure of the evolution of the troupe, which has reached a polished performance pinnacle. If there was any irony, it could be found in remembering that Joan of Arc herself was put to death at the tender age of 19.

On the other hand, if you were looking for youthful exuberance, it could be found in the “pre-show initiative,” a brief performance of “Dreamfall,” a lyrical piece created by Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers and Bolanos Wilmott, that first appeared in tandem with “Jehanne” back in 2018. This time it was performed by eight baby-faced female students from the Vita Dance Academy in Manatee County, which is co-owned by former SCD dancer Elisha Byerly.

Floating across the stage in gauzy, opaque nightgowns, the students explored the nebulous terrain between sleeping and waking. Their adolescent coltishness was endearing and set the stage for the dramatic display of strength, finesse and maturity that would follow.