Collage Dance Collective started its training component by teaching one child in a Memphis church basement in 2007. In less than 20 years they were able to grow from that one into a conservatory that trains 1000 young people a week. They’ve done so while earning international acclaim as a thriving dance company that is shattering misconceptions and stereotypes about what ballet is – and who it is for.
Thanks to Dance St. Louis, they will once again bring their unique voice within the dance world to the Touhill Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 5th.
“Our mission is to inspire the growth of ballet, especially in Black and brown communities,” said cofounder and Artistic Director Kevin Thomas.
RISE will also feature students from Central VPA High School and COCA in the performance.
Thomas was born in Trinidad, but came to Montreal, Canada as a young child – where he began his dance training soon after arriving.
“When I started dancing in Montreal– and we are talking in the 70s – I never saw anyone of color. I was always the only one,” Thomas said. “I faced a lot of racism and discrimination. That followed me throughout my career until I arrived at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and could be on a stage full of color.”
The experience changed his mindset and his spirit.
“I thought, ‘there needs to be more of this,’” Thomas said.
His ten years working with Dance Theatre of Harlem, and founder Arthur Mitchell, inspired him and Collage cofounder Marcellus Harper – who also serves as the company’s executive director – to establish their own institution.
“We wanted to create another company that is all about diversity,” Thomas said. “Where there are black and brown people on stage telling our stories. People have thought ballet is white – and that ballet is not for us. But ballet is ours too.”
Like Harlem, they wanted to create their company in a Black community. They decided they wanted to bring Black and brown ballet to the south. So they came to Memphis, Tenn.
“We did some research,” Thomas said. “And we got here and realized that the city was in need of the work that we are doing.”
One of the first things Thomas did when he came to Memphis was to visit the National Civil Rights Museum.
“I was quickly reminded about our history – our incredible history,” Thomas said. “I was reminded of our struggles, our wins and the work that we put in to win.”
Out of that experience came RISE, a ballet set to a musical arrangement to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” He delivered the soul-stirring remarks in Memphis the night before his assassination on April 4, 1968.
“I felt like the story should be told again through dance – because dance is another way of communicating,” Thomas said. “It is a deeper way.”
The ballet features the text of Dr. King’s speech that can be viewed as the dancers move to the words and the music.
“It gives you a 3-D moment,” Thomas said. “And allows for a deeper connection with the words – a deeper understanding of Dr. King’s words.”
Words that are very important considering the current political climate.
“What he is saying in those words, we are living it right now,” Thomas said. “And we need to take that away with us.”
RISE will also feature students from Central VPA High School and COCA in the performance.
“We have to remember these young voices – they are the future – and we have to raise them right,” Thomas said. “It’s all about the importance of community and the importance of standing up for what you believe in and pouring into our young kids. We must guide them.”
One of the greatest joys is the impact Collage has had is helping new audiences fall in love with dance, ballet in particular.
“When I have parents – especially my fathers – who come to the shows and they are crying because they now realize what dance can do,” Thomas said. “They didn’t know dance could tell this type of story or feel that way. We are creating a new community of dance lovers – people who never thought ballet could do this for them.”
He points to a piece like BLUFF CITY BLUES as a way of forging that connection.
“People come up to me and say, ‘I never would have thought that you could do ballet to the blues,’” Thomas said. “You are taking these stories that are real, and these stories that belong to us. It’s a great way to introduce people to ballet who thought it was too stuffy and not for them. Ballet is ours too.”
BLUFF CITY BLUES will also be on the program when Collage takes the stage in St. Louis.
Thomas says the company is excited to come back because of the response they have received during their visits.
“St. Louis audiences have seen our ballets and have jumped to their feet,” Thomas said.
We want people to get to know us – and love us – and to really make our cities feel even closer.”
He also wants the audience to once again be moved by what they see on stage.
“I would like for the performance to touch something in their souls,” Thomas said. “When you see something that inspires you, it makes you think differently. I want them to leave the room feeling touched, feeling inspired and thinking differently.”
Dance St. Louis will present Collage Dance Collective at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5th at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.dancestlouis.org.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
