Denver dance group uses dance to ‘heal pain’ of

The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance group has turned to dance as a way to ease the pain brought by the 2019 fire that affected three Denver parishes. Photo: Yogendra Singh/Pexels

A dance group based in Denver, Colo., was among the two performers tapped to qualify the experiences of arson fire victims of the 2019 fire that affected three churches in St. Landry Parish.

The KLFY website reported that the dance troupe's performance also helped heal the pain brought by the incident.

Healing Through Dance

Jackie Lyle, Performing Arts Serving Acadiana's executive director, explained that she thought of having a novel performance to help sustain the discussion about the incident.

The news outlet noted that three churches in the parish burned down in 2019 due to an arsonist identified as Holden Matthews. The said churches were the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, St.Mary Baptist Church, and Greater Union Baptist Church.

Lyle said the performances are a mixture of 'fun, beauty, and provocativeness.' Ultimately, she said the performances are meant to reflect violent incidents targeting worship places, as well as 'redemption and reconciliation.'

She disclosed that she sent emails and called the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and New Orleans Jazz Orchestra to participate in the project.

Lyle noted that they met with Louisiana residents who were victims of the 2019 church fires. She bared that they strived to infuse the performance with the words of the victims.

"That mechanism pulls the audience along," Lyle explained.

For the Founder and Artistic Director of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance group, Cleo Parker Robinson, their visit to the razed churches in St. Landry Parish and Opelousas helped them flesh out their dance routine.

Robinson stressed that she had to ensure that their dance primarily "honors the community" affected by the church fires.

"To really understand the effect it has on a community. I mean you're really with the people, you really are with the families and you're with the ministers," she explained.

Robinson added that they had to face and find answers to several questions to kickstart the healing process.

"How do we forgive him? How do we then move forward, and how do we build and rebuild together," Robinson said.

About the St. Landry Parish Fires

A separate report by KLFY.com revealed that the suspect Matthews had pleaded guilty in 2020 to six counts of arson in the district court related to his role in the 2019 church fires. He had also pleaded guilty to a count of using fire to commit a federal felony and three counts of the Church Arson Prevention Act.

Consequently, Matthews faces at least 10 years minimum jail time and 70 years as statutory maximum prison time.

The news outlet noted that Matthews admitted to committing the crime to elevate his status in the Black Metal community. He reportedly posted photos and videos of the fires as they happened.

The article bared that the churches were all black churches, but the charges did not specify race as a factor.

Matthews's federal charges included three counts each of "using fire to commit felony" and "intentional damage to religious property." Additionally, he was charged in the St. Landry District Court with two counts of simple arson and one count of aggravated arson of a religious building.