Fidèle Youth Dance Company to culminate ninth season with “The Pilgrim’s Progress” Nov. 12-13
What comes next?
It’s a question everyone faces when leaving one chapter behind and preparing to enter another. For Fidèle Youth Dance Company, that question was raised after rebounding from a challenging 2020 season with a stand-out 2021, culminating in an original stage adaptation of “The Lady and the Lionheart” by award-winning author Joanne Bischof.
“The story of ‘The Lady and the Lionheart’ ends with a circus child, free from bondage, with all her debts paid and her whole life ahead of her,” Mimi McKinnis, director of FYDC, said. “The battle had been won. She’s free. Now what?”
The “Lionheart” performance, attended and acclaimed by Bischof herself, welcomed more spectators, earned more revenue, and garnered more national excitement than any prior season, dating all the way back to the company’s inception in 2014. The company had pulled off a production with the real-life Biblical message of salvation through sacrifice, which led to its most successful season to date.
So what comes next?
“We walk,” McKinnis said. “We walk in a manner worthy of that sacrifice. Not all at once, but every day we make progress.”
With that, the groundwork was laid for the 2022 season, and for an original stage adaptation of “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” Originally published in 1678, John Bunyan’s masterful allegory tells the story of Christian and his journey from The City of Destruction (representing earth) to The Celestial City (representing Heaven), depicting the obstacles that hinder a Godly life and the helpers God sends to overcome them. It is second only to the Bible in number of copies printed worldwide, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and in the 344 years since its release, has never been out of print.
“It’s definitely a well-known story within the Christian community,” McKinnis said, “but at the same time, it’s got a gospel-driven message at its heart that will resonate with those who aren’t familiar with it. It’s been an amazing experience working to bring it to life in a way that’s never been seen or done before.”
With the story set, the details were poured over in prayer as the season began to take shape, each one created with the company’s mission to impact the community for His Kingdom in mind. From the costuming to the choreography, every element of the production was carefully designed to ignite a spiritual spark inside each person in the audience.
“There are so many little things in this production that I hope will have a really powerful impact in His name,” McKinnis said. “The character of Christian moves one limb at a time rather than in unison with others or all at once because the pilgrimage of Christianity is taken one step at a time. No one is perfect. We make progress. The character of Faithful is always ahead of Christian in the direction of movement on stage, or a note or phrase ahead in the music, because faith is something that has to be pursued. All the Kingdom-dwelling characters, and only the Kingdom-dwelling characters, have an element of royalty with purple incorporated somehow into their costume. My prayer is that, while all of these things might not be picked up on by everyone, the gospel-driven purpose behind each detail is felt through every performance, whether you immediately recognize why or not.”
The book features a plethora of characters, lending itself to a production that spotlights 15 soloists, two duets, two trios and several ensembles—a challenge McKinnis says lends itself to opportunity.
“There are so many characters within this story, which gives everyone in the audience more to relate to,” she said. “Sometimes you can see yourself in supporting characters, like recognizing times you’ve turned from the straight and narrow path at the first sign of trouble, or when you’ve talked about your faith louder than your actions show. Other times you can see yourself as Christian, identifying the flatterers, vanity or attacks you’ve encountered on your own pilgrimage. But you can also see that the Holy Spirit is with you in those battles. You also see the support and encouragement within the church, and the care and discretion among like-minded pilgrims. To be able to shine His light through so many different facets, and to physically show those aspects of this journey on stage is incredibly powerful.”
One of the most powerful moments comes in one of the most poignant scenes of the production, when Christian and Hopeful find themselves locked in the dungeon of The Doubting Castle, under the guard of Giant Despair.
“Creating a giant on stage was something I prayed a lot about,” McKinnis said. “I thought about crafting larger-than-life puppet limbs, or building a platform for that student to dance on so they’d always be looking down and appear taller than the other performers on stage. In the end, we didn’t do any of that. We created movements and lines the student can use to convince the audience she’s bigger than she is, in the same way that despair convinces us there’s no way out or to give up hope. When the pilgrim's place their hope in themselves, they fail. When they put their hope in the Holy Spirit, they succeed. The whole scene affects you in a way that feels so big while reminding us that God will always be bigger.”
“The students and costume, hair and makeup volunteers who have come together this season have done an incredible job in bringing all these characters to life. We’re so humbled and blessed to be able to portray a message and a story of this magnitude. It’s been an amazing season that has resonated with each and every heart that’s been a part of it.”
So what comes next?
“We create,” McKinnis said. “We use the gifts He's given us as artists in a way that reflects His image, for His glory. We continue to create a legacy of faith-based productions that transcend the studio and stage. We shine His light with every detail and every note. Not all at once, but every day, we'll work to make progress.”
Come see for yourself as Fidèle Youth Dance Company presents “The Pilgrim’s Progress” at the Wasson Academic Campus Auditorium, Saturday, November 12, at 2 and 6 p.m., or a Sunday matinee, November 13, at 2 p.m. Tickets are selling fast! Reserve your seats today: https://28948.danceticketing.com/r/events/