On July 29, 2015, inside the gymnasium of Woodbourne Correctional Facility, a group of RTA participants stepped onto a makeshift stage and danced with precision, emotion, and purpose. The piece was called Finally Free—a modern dance performance that brought together months of hard work, creative risk-taking, and collaboration.
Directed and choreographed by Susan Slotnick and Bethany Wooten Noel, Finally Free featured a powerful ensemble of incarcerated individuals who had been training in modern dance through RTA’s program at Woodbourne, which began in 2006. The performance challenged expectations—not just of what dance could look like behind the walls, but of who gets to express themselves through art.
The production was spearheaded by RTA’s founder, Katherine Vockins, whose commitment to creating spaces for meaningful artistic work inside prisons helped make performances like this possible.
Ten years later, Finally Free still stands out as a moment of creative courage and community—one where movement told stories that words couldn’t, and where audiences inside and outside the facility were left moved, surprised, and thinking differently about what happens when people are given the chance to make something real together. Watch the full performance below.
