The wooden panel floors creaked as UNA sophomore and ballerina Karlee Mauk moved across the stage.  

The dancer performed a lyrical piece entitled “The Singularity” at Zodiac Theater in downtown Florence April 21 and will do so again April 22.  

Mauk said the performance was not her first time performing onstage, but the event was special because many of her friends and family members attended.  

“I’ve been performing since I was three years old,” Mauk said. “But for this crowd, it feels so incredible to be onstage.”  

“The Singularity” is “an epic that draws parallel to familiar characters such as Hercules and Odysseus,“ according to the program.  

The performance also featured music to which Mauk danced to. Instruments such as the clarinet, flute, drums, electric keyboard and xylophone sounded behind a black curtain as the ballerina danced on the tips of her toes.  

The composer of “The Singularity” was senior Jeremy Smith, who hopes to obtain a degree at UNA in music theory and composition with a minor in philosophy. After the performance, audience members flocked to Smith outside the theatre to take pictures and ask him questions.   

Mauk said she, Smith and the musicians prepared for the ballet for four months. She described Smith’s composition as “genius.”  

Freshmen Olivia Martinez said the performance played out in a sophisticated and precise manner. 

“I’ve never been to anything like this, but (the performance) was a fantastic first experience,” Martinez said.  

Tickets to “The Singularity” are $15 and are available at the ticket window outside Zodiac Theatre.  

“I definitely think everyone should come out tomorrow to see the performance,” Mauk said. “Jeremy is incredibly talented, and the story is beautiful.”