As strobe lights flash and music plays, girls wearing bulky costumes complete with vibrant tentacles and tribal makeup dance around the room, stunning the audience into silence.

This may seem strange, but to visual senior Andrew Padilla, it’s a perfect representation of who he is as an artist, an individual, and a Christian.

“Strongholds” was a student-run production that took place on April 22 in the Blackbox Theater, representing the journey of Padilla finding his faith and discovering himself through Jesus.  

“When planning my senior piece I wanted to create a project that combined all of my artistic outlets,” said Padilla. “I wanted to incorporate my sculptural fashion design, music composition, and appreciation for dance. I also wanted the project to represent who I am as a Christian and present my personal story.”

Students and faculty of all grades and majors congregated in the Blackbox Theater to witness the unique performance, prompting Padilla to host a second and third showing to accommodate the influx of people.

“It was a really good experience to see multiple perspectives of how people feel about one religion,” dance senior Lucia De-Polithe said. “We don’t all adhere to the same religion, but we came together anyways to create an amazing show. I would definitely want to do something like this again; it’s opened my eyes to new forms of art and new ways to express myself.”

Padilla made his own music, designed the costumes, and choreographed the dances for the show over the span of several months. However, throughout all of it, he maintained a smile, as he knew that all of his hard work would soon pay off.

“The whole project has been in the works since January,” said Padilla. “I began constructing the costumes and composing the music at the beginning of the year and worked until days before the show. Due to scheduling issues, the performance could only be shown a week earlier than I had originally planned, so everything had to fall into place very rapidly. It was stressful because I had so many people to direct, but ultimately “Strongholds” was exactly how I envisioned it and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Like all of us, Padilla endured many struggles; however, no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake the feelings of hopelessness and defeat that threatened to devour him. He couldn’t fill the void in his heart–that is, until he discovered his faith in Jesus. Furthermore, in sharing his journey through his interpretive performance, Padilla hopes to inspire those who’ve experienced similar feelings.

“I was raised a Christian, however there was a point in my life where I had to decide for myself if I wanted to commit my life to God,” said Padilla. “For a long time I tried to face personal issues and struggles on my own, but I could never truly overcome them. Not until I surrendered these strongholds to the Lord to free me, was I able to find the strength to battle the struggles of life. I felt that many people would relate to my feeling of failure and helplessness so I wanted to share my story.”

Despite leaving Dreyfoos, Padilla plans to pursue his passions for visual art, music, and Christianity. He will continue to push boundaries, to transcend what is “normal” or “expected” by utilizing his unique style and combining his various interests to create a grand masterpiece such as “Strongholds.”

“I am definitely going to continue my focus with my experience as a Christian,” said Padilla. “I want to continue to create interdisciplinary work combining my music and visual art. I am still unsure if my next step will be a performance like this one but I hope to create something with the same amount of passion and dedication.”