Watching the COCAdance production of “Momentum” this weekend gave a glimpse of what’s possible when creativity is met with structure – and talent is nurtured.
Under the leadership of co-artistic directors Antonio (one of COCAdance’s most famous alums) and Kirven Douthit-Boyd, along with entire the team that keeps the program moving, the winter 2018 production of the company of young dancers stood on par with a professional troupe.
Both engaging and entertaining, “Momentum” gave dozens of young dancers the opportunity to display the rich variety that can be found within movement – even within the confines of contemporary and hip-hop dance.
The show opened with a video featuring Anthony “Redd” Williams as COCAdance commemorated the 10th anniversary of the program’s hip-hop element.
“I’m proud of this legacy – and I’m proud to be a part of the COCA family,” Williams said as he discussed the growth of the program he founded a decade ago.
Audiences were able to see the power of the program for themselves as more than 60 dancers opened the show with “10,” a ten-minute, high-impact mix of movement set to the likes of Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar.
Tiny b-girls and b-boys to those approaching adulthood popped and locked across the stage to open “Momentum” with a bang.
The concert would pivot between modern and hip-hop – and proved a fitting last performance for COCA’s Founder’s Theatre.
“After the ‘Momentum’ cast takes their final bow, we will start the next chapter of COCA Presents as we begin construction of our facility renovation and expansion, which will include a new state-of-the-art theatre,” COCA Executive Director Kelly Pollock said in her notes for the show.
“Momentum” was a fitting farewell.
The young people were as poised as professionals while performing choreography so intricate and precise that a single missed step would be unforgivingly obvious.
But these young dancers were focused – and more importantly, appeared to be genuinely having fun and engaged with respect to interpreting the intended emotion with each piece.
Thanks to the connections of the program’s co-directors – who are both alumni of the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – dance legend and Ailey’s Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison was on hand at COCA to instruct the students for the ballet “Divining.”
Jamison would have been proud of the young people incorporating her meticulous attention to detail when she visited last year as a guest teacher during the actual performance of “Divining.”
Kirven Douthit-Boyd’s untitled piece echoed a response to Ailey’s signature ballet “Revelations.”
On the hip-hop side, a tribute to Janet Jackson’s 30-plus years as an influencer caused the crowd to erupt and groove from their seats.
“I felt like I was in middle school again,” one woman said after singing and dancing along to the Janet Jackson medley. “Seeing these kids perform like that – and at this level – makes me want to have a do-over.”
