Honoring Dr. King's Legacy Through Dance

Saturday evening, the Restoration Dance Theatre Company and ChoreoQuest performed “Imagine!” an anuual show at the Kumble Theater in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“It’s a family gathering time, and we look forward to this weekend every year,” said Peggy Alston, director of the Youth Arts Academy. “It demonstrates artistic achievement and academic achievement, which are key areas that we’re anxious to share.”

Alston and ChoreoQuest artistic director Obediah Wright celebrated this emphasis on artistic as well as academic excellence by congratulating the four dance company members who will be graduating from high school this year, and inviting them on the stage with their parents at the end of the performance.

The annual show was originally inspired by Dr. King’s legacy, according to Alston. “The show is founded on his ideals, and what we can do to keep them alive,” she said. “The youths are the ‘imagine’ of our future.”

The choreographers share this vision. James Atkinson, a member of the Classical Contemporary Ballet Company and a graduate student at New York University, said he feels the show exemplifies Dr. King and his dream by taking youth and helping them blossom.

“Dance provides discipline and structure,” he said. “It helps them to evolve into wonderful citizens and human beings, and helps them progress and grow.”

The two-hour performance itself showcased the talents of ten choreographers from ChoreoQuest (including Wright, Atkinson and Herring), and the dancers of the Restoration Dance Theatre Company. The show was composed of sixteen different dance pieces, ranging in style from classical ballet to traditional African dance to modern hip-hop.

Choreographer Karen Thornton Daniels emphasized the importance of the connection between dance and the community for the company by dedicating one of her pieces, “Through It All,” to her mother for her 75th birthday.

ChoreoQuest is a project of the Bedford Stuyvesant Corporation Center for Arts and Culture, and the project’s mentoring initiative works with high school students from the Restoration Dance Theatre Company and Youth Arts Academy every year to put on this show. Atkinson said that he is grateful such a program exists. “It’s a space that’s provided for free, so I don’t have to worry about renting out somewhere to rehearse,” he said. “And it’s a place to call home.”