What is In His Name...We Dance?
For most dancers, it is the annual production of the local nutcracker that gives meaning to the season. But for the dance students at Centre for Dance & the Performing Arts the holiday season is earmarked for something unique and very special to the community. In His Name ...We Dance is the choreographic vision of Kathryn White Austin for more than 22 years ago. It began with a small and very young cast and a few pieces of lyrical choreography to classic and contemporary Christian music. Now it is a one-hour performing arts production that expresses Ms Kathryn's interpretation of the true meaning of the Christmas season through dance and music, the fellowship of these young dancers and community outreach through the art of dance.
You will find yourself immersed in a spiritual journey through what was, for Mary, and the world, a time of great anticipation and wonder. What anxiety Mary must have felt upon hearing the news that she would bear this Holy Child! How did she navigate her faith and doubt as she battled with the ramifications of what was to be her glory in history? How could she know? Her faith, her character and even her conflict, along with the comfort of the Angels must have given her strength to endure this glorious burden. All around the land people heard the news, gathered and journeyed to see this child. Many did not believe and sought to bring harm.
Thousands of years passed and the history of this child remains central to our lives. Whatever we believe and whatever differences we face, we find this infant child, young boy, charismatic man, at the heart of our questioning. The Christmas season celebrates how faith in this small child has given so many great joy as the light to salvation and hope!
As young dancers work their way through the casting from Candle Bearers at age 5 or 7, to Blessed Angels to Guardians, to full cast members, each one looks forward to the year that she might be cast in the role of Mary. Over the years this program has evolved to include the additional talents of individuals affiliated with the studio in the areas of vocal performance, Scottish Highland dance, flute and trumpet and American Sign Language.
