Six years ago, flames engulfed three historically black churches in St. Landry Parish. The Louisiana community mourned the act of arson as it destroyed three important pillars of the local Baptist community. The act took the lives of community members—it disrupted the heartbeat of a congregation bound by faith and history.
Award-winning choreographer and Kennedy Center Medalist, Cleo Parker Robinson committed to creating a dance piece in remembrance of the community’s strength, sorrow, loss, and unity.
Titled Sacred Spaces? the modern ballet piece also connects the 2019 act of arson with the burning of a Denver Church in 1925. The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, based in Denver, Colorado, has now performed the piece, Sacred Spaces?, for three years. CPRD came to New Orleans to perform Sacred Spaces, accompanied by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.
Adonis Rose, Grammy-winning Executive Director of the NOCCA Foundation and artistic director of the orchestra, directed the band in performing the music he wrote for the piece. According to Rose, Sacred Spaces? marked the first time he composed music specifically for a dance work.
Sacred Spaces? became the first ballet performed at the New Orleans Jazz Market, christening the venue with an emotional and powerful choreography. The dancers performed alongside a narrator, singer, and live band while telling the story of loss and resilience, and the consequences of violently losing community members and holy spaces. “Raising awareness about crimes to places of worship is what this work exemplifies,” said Rose.
From solos to group pieces, the ensemble danced to Rose’s composition, and a narration developed by Parker Robinson when she spoke to those affected by the St. Landry fires. Throughout the piece, the dancers embodied the wide array of reactions and emotions expressed by the community leaders and members who witnessed the after math of the fires.
The audience reacted in tears and gasps throughout the performance, as the dancers moved united through their technique and powerful music.
By connecting a modern tragedy with one nearly a century old, Parker Robinson reflected on the power of storytelling.
“Today, humanity should be critical through art,” she said.
But Sacred Spaces? was not just about loss. The performance carried the spirit of endurance and community—qualities that have allowed those affected by these tragedies to move forward. In true New Orleans fashion, the night ended with a celebration: The dancers paraded through the audience with the band, umbrellas in hand, their wide smiles a testament to the resilience they had just honored on stage.
