Student Shares Experience with Depression in Capstone Dance Project

Buffalo State senior Collin Kirdahy knows a thing or two about clinical depression and anxiety.

The arts and letters major, who is an accomplished ballet dancer and sculptor, has lived with both afflictions since early adolescence. He’s been bullied, suffered eating disorders, and experienced suicidal tendencies.

Through therapy, medication, and art, Kirdahy has found stability. He’s now trying to help others with his senior capstone project, Morbidly Normal. It has both a research portion, looking at suicide statistics, and a dance performance, which presents mirror images of the mindset of an individual suffering from depression.

“The purpose of Morbidly Normal is to create a voice for those who don’t have a voice or don’t feel like they have a voice,” said Kirdahy, who choreographed the five-minute dance in which he also performs with fellow dancer Jonise Hall.

The public will have the chance to see Morbidly Normal March 8–10 in the Warren Enters Theatre. He’s working with Crisis Services and Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York to have suicide prevention information on hand outside the theater.

“This is what I’m passionate about,” he said. “I want to convey that there is a way out.”

Kirdahy recently spoke with WKBW-Channel 7 reporter Liz Lewin about his personal struggles with depression for her story on the dramatic rise in depression among teens and young adults.