Core Dance To Perform As The Shadows Grow Longer By D. Patton White

After the unexpected and untimely death of his brother Claiborne, choreographer and Core Dance Company Manager D. Patton White was compelled to create. Several sources of inspiration informed his dance making including the etymology of the word "memorial," a recommendedmusical composition of the third movement of Ralph Vaughn Williams' Symphony Number 5 in D Major, and the creative talents of the dance artists of Core Dance. The work will premiere in Houston on March 14, 15, 16, at 7:30 p.m. in MatchBox 2, at Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, 3400 S. Main Street, Houston, 77002. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door available at the MATCH Box Office at (713) 521-4533 or https://matchouston.org.

At the suggestion of Jeffrey Clark, a commissioner of this new project along with Core Dance, White listened to the third movement of Vaughn Williams' Symphony Number 5. Written at the height of the Second World War, in war-torn Great Britain many scholars and musicologists believe the work to be a respite from the horrors of war and grief. With this information White began the creative process.

White and the Core Dance Artists began by listening to the Vaughn Williams composition and responding to the music through the medium of visual art and drawing. Subsequently the members began to share stories of personal relationships they had experienced in their own lives - of times they were close and times when they were distant. Movement themes emerged, and White began to craft opportunities for relationships to develop and mature in the work; to express the fleeting nature of life; and to embrace powerlessness; and to be present in the moment. These are some of the ideas melded into As Shadows Grow Longer.

Interactive segments will open and close the piece. At the beginning of the evening, the audience will find the dancers onstage already in motion. Saw horses, boards, assorted construction materials will fill the space, and the dance artists will make play structures. The audience will be invited to join them in this creative playground and will help to make some of the structures. As the performance section of the piece will begin, and the audience will be seated. At the closure of the piece, the audience will be invited to go onstage and move in quiet partnership with another person. A microphone will available for people to share the name(s) of departed loved ones they wish to remember and memorialize. Musical instruments will be available for people to sound notes into the space; and incense will be available for people to light.

D. Patton White danced in Core Dance for 18 years prior to his current role as Company Manager. He is a regular instructor for Core Dance's morning classes and now brings his artistry as a dance maker back into the company.