The Optimist
  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Features
  • Print Edition
    • The Pessimist
    • Special Projects
  • Police Log
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / Arts & Culture / Student dance production portrays darkness, grace

Student dance production portrays darkness, grace

April 3, 2009 by Cara Leahy

By Cara Leahy, Student Reporter

It began with an iPod on shuffle mode.

That is when Kat Bailey first had the inspiration for Friday night’s dance show, Free.

“I was actually driving home from school and praying in my car,” said Bailey, sophomore theatre major from Sugarland. “And this idea came to me, and the order on my iPod came on in the order I ended up using for the dance show.”

Free is an hour-long show that will feature dances, songs and monologues depicting the burdens of secret sins. Depression, alcoholism, drugs and lust are only a few of the issues dealt with during the course of the show; some of the topics are taken directly from Bailey’s personal experiences.

“I’ve seen every struggle in this show either in myself or my best friends or my family,” Bailey said. “I’ve seen people struggle with these things and see how it completely overpowered them – mind, body and soul.”

The show, which is entirely student produced, includes 11 dances choreographed by Bailey, as well as original monologues written by Emily Rankin, sophomore theatre major from Abilene.

“It’s a very dark show but it’s about having God, that you can’t do it alone,” Bailey said.

Ashley Padovani, senior theatre major from Mansfield and a dancer in the show, not only experiences that darkness but also succumbs to it. Her character struggles with alcoholism in a dance to Kelly Clarkson’s song Sober.

“In the song, I’m constantly struggling with whether or not to take that first drink,” Padovani said.

The alternative is represented in a can of nails present throughout the performance. The nails, meant to symbolize God’s grace, are a counterweight to the burdens each character carries.

“That grace is always there, available to us, but we don’t see it; we don’t take it,” Padovani said. “We don’t ever go there because our brokenness and our desire for our sin keeps us from receiving it.”

However, the darkness is part of the journey toward an ending that promises redemption, she said.

“It’s more than being changed; it’s that we’re going to keep fighting,” Padovani said. “We’re going to keep pressing forward until we are victorious again.”

In the end, it is that sense of hope Bailey said she wants the audience to take home.

“You’re not alone in what you struggle with,” she said. “You really can be set free from it – there really is a way out.”

Free will be showing in the Williams Performing Arts Center at 8 p.m. on Friday, and admission is free.

Filed Under: Arts & Culture

Other Arts & Culture:

  • Hall of Faith highlights influential figures in Christianity

  • Ordinary Days: Appreciating the beauty in the simplicity

  • Book Review: “American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey Into The Business Of Punishment” by Shane Bauer

About Cara Leahy

You are here: Home / Arts & Culture / Student dance production portrays darkness, grace

Other Arts & Culture:

  • Hall of Faith highlights influential figures in Christianity

  • Ordinary Days: Appreciating the beauty in the simplicity

  • Book Review: “American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey Into The Business Of Punishment” by Shane Bauer

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
ashleyh1607 Ashley Henderson @ashleyh1607 ·
3 Jun

My second year at ACU was full of opportunities that grew me as an individual and a journalist.

In my first year as editor in chief of @acuoptimist, we published six print issues, filmed a 3-hour live election show, and revamped our newscast, all while producing news weekly.

Reply on Twitter 1929734328445178254 Retweet on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Like on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Twitter 1929734328445178254
Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
optimistsports Optimist Sports @optimistsports ·
2 Jun

The Optimist reached out to ACU Athletics, who provided the following statement.

Reply on Twitter 1929676060947632336 Retweet on Twitter 1929676060947632336 1 Like on Twitter 1929676060947632336 1 Twitter 1929676060947632336

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

12 months ago

The Optimist

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

2 years ago

The Optimist
"Ending my college education early was always the plan for me, but the things that I have been able to see, experience and examine about ACU’s community were not. I have found immense growth in ACU over the past three and a half years, but ACU still has a long road to climb if it wants to keep catering to students as the world changes around them." To read more of this article visit acuoptimist.com or click the link in our bio. #acu #abilenechristianuniversity #privatechristianuniversity #collegestudentopinion #acuopinion ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 28, 2024

Our top stories today include a recap of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 21, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 14, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 24, 2024

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Policies
    • Advertising Policy
    • Letters to the Editor and Reader Comments
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Features
  • Advertise
    • Paid Advertisement
  • Police Log

© 2025 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved