The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
This summer, The Word in the Wings will feature stories of how the work of Glorify Performing Arts addresses problems with the ways our culture often views the human body. Today I share a synthesis of conversations so far in this series to illustrate the value of GPA’s work through the art of dance for moving towards a view of the body that is in accord with Christian hope for redemption and resurrection in Christ.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
This summer, The Word in the Wings will feature stories of how the work of Glorify Performing Arts addresses problems with the ways our culture often views the human body. As part of this series, I interviewed Deanna Pfau, who has been an audience member and volunteer at GPA events since November 2021. This is the second part of our conversation, where Deanna and I discuss the role relationships play in recovery and why personal, physical healing is an important part of the Church’s mission.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
This summer, The Word in the Wings will feature stories of how the work of Glorify Performing Arts addresses problems with the ways our culture often views the human body. As part of this series, I interviewed Deanna Pfau, who has been an audience member and volunteer at GPA events since November 2021. In the first part of our conversation, Deanna shares about factors that influenced her relationship to her body for many years, and she describes how God led her into recovery.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
This summer, The Word in the Wings will feature stories of how the work of Glorify Performing Arts addresses problems with the ways our culture often views the human body. As part of this series, I am sharing a meditation on Romans 8:1-11 and a brief reflection on how our redemption in Christ’s Spirit empowers dancers, as artists who work in an embodied medium, to reflect the gospel in their art.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
This summer, The Word in the Wings will feature stories of how the work of Glorify Performing Arts addresses problems with the ways our culture often views the human body. To kick off this series, I interviewed Artistic and Executive Director Melody Stanert. In Part II of our conversation, Melody shares stories that reflect her heart behind creating honest portrayals of the life of faith.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
This summer, The Word in the Wings will feature stories of how the work of Glorify Performing Arts addresses problems with the ways our culture often views the human body. In GPA’s work of creating professional, empowering, Spirit-inspired dance productions, we aim to value the body’s God-given capacities for meaning-making and beauty. We aim to protect the body from exploitation by the art and industry of dance, and we orient the body’s efforts toward the glory of God.To kick off this series, I interviewed Artistic and Executive Director Melody Stanert about her sense of purpose that drove her to found GPA and motivates her to create dance productions that inspire Christians in their faith. In Part I of our conversation, we discuss the power of relational storytelling and the difference between valuing and idolizing the body as dance artists.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
As our 2021-22 performance season draws to a close, the company has taken some time to reflect over the ways God has been at work among us. Read on to reflect and revisit some of the fruit of this year!

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
One of my favorite things about storytelling through dance is the way dance layers together various elements to invite novel connections, generating new dimensions of meaning even for familiar ideas. Come Alive uses this layering capacity of dance to portray hope as certainty even in what we don’t yet see as reality.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
As Glorify Dance Theatre prepares to perform Come Alive, I spoke with several of the dancers about how they portray their characters in connection with narratives about resurrection from Scripture. Emily, Audrey and Lindsey each share some biblical and personal inspiration for their artistic choices in how they embody the message of resurrection hope in this original ballet.

The Word in the Wings
By: Kaya Prasad
In May 2022, Glorify Dance Theatre performs Come Alive, an original ballet about two young women who experience trials and transformation in their faith through relationships in high school and college. The ballet brings together the stories of characters who search for meaning and purpose from different sources and suggests that God’s spirit is a life-source with the power to sustain and restore.