From Heart to Stage

This series originated as Meagan’s senior project for her Bachelor of Fine Arts. It was created to reflect her healing journey following formative experiences of trauma. Titled, “Healing of the Heart”, these twelve anatomical hearts were created each in a different medium to portray a distinct emotional state. Together, the pieces trace a progression from woundedness and pain toward restoration, transformation, and wholeness.

Melissa Holmlund (Lighthouse Dance Director), having known Meagan for many years, was captivated when she saw an online photo of Meagan's "Restoration Heart". She later saw the twelve-piece series in person, exhibited at ReStory Counseling in 2023. After viewing and reflecting upon each piece, and the emotions they invoked, Melissa had the idea to create a dance production inspired by Meagan's heart series. She reached out to Meagan, and the process began.

Meagan and Melissa collaborated with musicians and choreographers who generously shared their gifts of song and dance, each uniquely inspired by one piece of the heart series. Lighthouse Dance, home to most of the dancers in this production, focused on the themes of "Heart" and "Beloved" for their dance season with prints of the twelve hearts displayed in one of the studio rooms.

The name "Heartbeat" speaks of life and hope. Our hearts are alive! Our hearts hold emotions, process trauma, and experience healing. The arts speak to our hearts in a language that is universal and transformative. We hope and pray that this collaboration of arts will speak powerfully, gently, and restoratively.

“I pray that these pieces resonate within you and allow healing to root in your own heart. I pray that you are filled with renewed hope, great courage, and deep healing. May you offer yourself tender care and generous kindness, wherever you may find yourself on the journey. Though this series represents my story, it can just as much be yours.” ~ Meagan

Please take time at intermission and after the production to view the series, "Healing of the Heart". We would love to meet you, talk with you, and hear part of your heart's story.

Note: If our "Christian wording" sounds foreign or unhelpful, that's OK. The emotions of the heart are universal, and you don't have to be a Christian to understand and connect with the art, music, and dance within this production. We're glad you're here.

Your pain is deep, and it won’t just go away. It is also uniquely yours, because it is linked to some of your earliest life experiences. Your call is to bring that pain home. As long as your wounded part remains foreign to your adult self, your pain will injure you as well as others. Yes, you have to incorporate your pain into your self and let it bear fruit in your heart and the hearts of others. This is what Jesus means when he asks you to take up your cross. He encourages you to recognize and embrace your unique suffering and to trust that your way to salvation lies therein. Taking up your cross means, first of all, befriending your wounds and letting them reveal to you your own truth. There is great pain and suffering in the world. But the pain hardest to bear is your own. Once you have taken up that cross, you will be able to see clearly the crosses that others have to bear, and you will be able to reveal to them their own ways to joy, peace, and freedom.”

- Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved

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