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Review by: Kat Zapata
The epic and extraordinary dance on film event “HERO” took place at the Midtown Arts & Theatre Center of Houston on July 25th. The main presentation was the “HERO” film coordinated by Mariah, the founder of the faith-based company ‘Deeper Than Dance.’ Her one-hour show is a beautiful display of how faith allows us to become superheroes as we go through different stages of growth in life, from playful infancy to mature adulthood. The one-hour show began with fantastic live performances choreographed by various talented individuals and dance groups.
I have many things to say about this show, but I must tell you about Mariah. She founded her own dance company ‘Deeper Than Dance’ a few years ago, and her story of how it came into reality is miraculous; you can learn more about it here Deeper Than Dance Website. She’s been dancing since she was three years old, and God truly blessed her with such talent. Through extreme efforts and passion for God, she has become the accomplished person she is today. At her show, someone who attended college with Mariah said, “I’m so proud of her. I watched her grow up and look at her now.”
The beauty and struggle of developing yourself is the core of her show. Her monologue seemed to be a personal testimony to the world and a love letter for the glory of God.
The opening live performances were fantastic! The show started with a lively, fun dance performance with the song “Sing” from Pentatonix resonating in the background, filling the audience with energy and laughter. Performed by a junior company dance team at “Core Dance Alliance,” it was a showstopper overflowing with strong, fast, extravagant movements. The girls’ glittery outfits and joy-filled facial expressions set the standard for the high-quality dances we could expect to watch later. It was impressive to see such incredible talent in such young girls.
The second performance, “Golden Stages,” was a cultural piece accompanied by a poem and a Bill Withers song, “Grandma’s Hands.” It was a passionate, empowering dance that powerfully showcased the plight, beauty, and historical experience of Black individuals and communities. It was a flashback of the past and a hope for a better future.
The following piece, “Teaching a Robot to Love,” was a transcendent, mesmerizing piece performed by three dancers. Their movements were, as the title of this piece suggests- robotic yet flowing and graceful. At moments the dancers would be in sync, but at others, one would fall out of rhythm and shrink to their own space and embrace. The other two dancers would gracefully pull each other back together from various body parts- legs, torsos, and shoulders- no restraint in each movement. Their facial expressions showed anguish, concern, and a longing for love, and they remained throughout the performance. One lyric from one of the musical accompaniments best summarizes this piece: “I don’t know how to be human.” I believe this piece was a commentary on the interconnectedness of human beings and our innate need for love.
Finally, Mariah, dressed in white, performed an improvised piece. The dance started with her sitting on the floor and a single spotlight shining on her. Her prayer began playing in the background, accompanied by “Snow of Spring” by Anan Ryoko, a beautiful instrumental that sounded like Heaven. Her invocation of the Holy Trinity resonated in the room and was incredibly touching; her prayer called on God to bestow his presence and enrapture everyone’s thoughts. Immediately a wave of chills came over me, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who experienced this, but rather the entire room. It was as if time stood still and the angels of Heaven were coming into the room with their harps. One of the last lines I remember is Mariah praying, “we can become heroes of life.” I had never experienced any performance that so divinely expressed God. As she began dancing, the prayer faintly continued in the background, and it felt like we were all breathing in God, and there was room for nothing else. Her movements became the crescendo representation of her prayer. At times she looked up to God with this expression of longing reliance, a simple gaze that was symbolic of the dependency of human beings on God. I had never felt so small yet so wholly and safely surrounded by the presence of God. Towards the end, the prayer beautifully returned as she continued dancing and tears rose in my eyes, my heart an explosion of pure love.
That set the tone for “HERO” to begin.
The first dance performance brought back childhood memories by displaying the Powerpuff girls’ theme song. It started with the introduction to the show, which tells the story of how the scientist created the three girls. Through a simple mistake-Professor Utonium sprinkled a little too much of a particular ingredient- and created something beautiful.
Similarly, humans all have a unique characteristic or trait, yet our creation was no mistake, for we are in God’s image and likeness.
The dance movements were playful and fun, like a child starting to understand their body. Gradually, each dancer or ‘Powerpuff girl’ learned to push their limits, so the movements became more instinctual and confident. The outfits were incredibly adorable, not to mention the fun beats and camera movements, which only added to the light-hearted spirit of the dance. The Powerpuff girls use their superpowers to “dedicate their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil,” the introduction shared. Humankind has that same purpose and ability to live, dedicating their lives to goodness. I also realized that there is beauty in the imaginative power that children have, and that is why they are the future.
Next, we moved to the ‘teenage’ phase, which brought me back to those days when I would listen to “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance. Set in the background of a concrete jungle of rooftop scenes and parking garages, the dancers dressed as Teen Titan characters moved perfectly, embodying the essence of the teenage years: confusion, rebelliousness, discovery of new superpowers and passions, and acceptance of the reality of life. In this phase, we leave our family and childhood nests to discover new friends and the world around us! It’s a difficult time of magnified feelings and crucial life lessons. It’s a psychological battleground, but one every human must overcome to become indestructible and find their unique superpower.
In “Adulthood,” like this film section’s serene background displayed, we realize a whole new world, exemplifying the phrase “the grass is greener on the other side.” The dance, set in a vast field of tall green grasses and pine trees, is complemented by soft bursts of sunshine, which appeared in some scenes like silver linings of hope. The dance exuded ‘homecoming’ and the stage of adulthood in which people find their rhythm in the unknown. The increasing sound of drums in the background convinced the viewer that the two dancers were closer to the right destination. Whereas the teenage years included the entire ensemble, this section performed by two dancers alluded to the loneliness most people experience in adulthood. The two dancers could also represent the duality of maturity: as we become someone others can depend on, we remain in need of people and, more importantly, God, our necessary counterpart, our other half, our true soulmate.
Finally, the show ended with a scene where all the dancers returned dressed in blue on a white background reminiscent of Heaven, and Mariah, the group leader, dressed in white, would come in and out of scenes as if overseeing the entire group and guiding their dance moves. They dressed as characters from ‘Doctor Strange’ and every movement symbolized freedom, beauty, confidence, and acceptance. The last scene ended with images of sunsets; the final stages of our life, too, are sunsets. Our final life stage is the purpose of our human struggle to transform ourselves into the best beings we can be, for life continues in eternity.
Overall, ‘HERO’ was an evocative dance on film show that undoubtedly moved the audience to relive the phases of their lives and realize their life’s worth.
Throughout our lifetime, if there’s anything significant, we should recognize that our beauty- whether talents or abilities- comes from God, and he has no limits. We can live our lives believing in ourselves or having an essence of God yet never truly recognizing him as our creator, but that would be a futile life. A better life is one we live side by side with God realizing our value in him and how he can help us develop our unique superpowers-this is HERO’s resounding message. I can genuinely say I gained something eternal through this show. It opened my eyes to the value of people and myself; we must realize we are the treasure of God’s eyes.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
