From left, Karly Dummons, Kelsie Gradney, Jerry Milton III, Elise Bureau and Brooklynn Jackson will dance to ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’ in Of Moving Colors’ ‘Kick It Out…That’s Entertainment.’
A lineup of pop, Motown and Broadway and Hollywood musical numbers paired with a cast of young community dancers – what’s not to love?
The combination has always been a winning formula for Of Moving Colors’ annual “Kick It Out” production, which returns for two performances on the Manship Theater stage at 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday.
Expect plenty of costumes and glitter as kids ages 5-17 join the company’s professional dancers to the sound of singers such as Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Bill Withers.
“It’s a fun show that hasn’t even been canceled during COVID,” said artistic director Garland Goodwin Wilson. “We were originally going to do it as a digital project when it all shut down, but we had so many parents who wanted to do it live, we adapted.”
The company begins rehearsing with its children in October. During the pandemic, these sessions took place either outdoors or on Zoom.
“We also held that year’s show in Dunham instead of the Manship as the Brown-Holt Theater in Dunham was larger which allowed us to better spread out the audience to better meet the COVID restrictions at this time. there,” Wilson said. “But the production never stopped.”
As in previous productions, “Kick It Out…That’s Entertainment” will feature children from across the Baton Rouge area. Each participant is required to pay tuition, with fully paid and partial scholarships provided for economically disadvantaged dancers.
Rehearsals conclude with a 90-minute program of full theatrical numbers ranging from The Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” to Otis Redding’s “Pain in My Heart.”
Community dancers ages 5-17 from all over Baton Rouge will join dancers from The Moving Colors Company on stage at the Manship Theater on February 4 for “Kick It Out…That’s Entertainment.”
“We’re also bringing back our popular dance number to ‘A-Tisket, A-Tasket,’ and the entire cast will come together to dance to ‘That’s Entertainment,’ and ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business,'” Wilson said. “Also, this year will be different in that we will feature many solo numbers performed by members of our professional company.”
As in previous “Kick It Out” shows, the dance numbers are choreographed by Wilson, Bethany Jones McCullough and Courtney Landry. The company’s lineup of dancers will include Cassandra Soniat-Boyd, Cayla Cole, Julian Guillory, Lauren Hebert, McCall Hundley, Hannah Knoff, Alyssa Rainey and Gabrielle Thibodeaux.
The program will also include original poetry composed and performed by Chancellor “xero” Skidmore, who premiered the company-commissioned piece during the 2020 “Kick It Out.”
Moving Colors Company dancers Hannah Knoff, left, and Lauren Hebert will perform ‘Kick It Out…That’s Entertainment’ Saturday at the Manship Theater.
Finally, Wilson can’t talk about this year’s “Kick It Out” without highlighting a special dancer in the cast of kids.
“For a dancer, this year has been special, for Allison Riley and for her mother Rachel,” Wilson said. “Allison is a young dancer who grew up – and still is – in the program. She dances with her band and has a sweet little duet with Major Matassa, but in the last dance of the show she will be joining the professionals for the first time. .”
Riley also helps her mother bring the children’s costumes to life.
From Moving Colours’ annual community production, “Kick It Out…That’s Entertainment” returns to the stage for two performances at 4 p.m. and …
“Ms. Riley has partnered as a children’s costume designer with company staff member Emma Granier, who is also responsible for the ‘Kick It Out’ project,” Wilson said. “Allison is helping them. For the many hours Ms. Riley has put into working on the costumes this year and years past, she will be honored with one of the OMC’s most prestigious awards, the Prism Award, for her work. on suits.”
The Prism Prize is awarded for artistic excellence, philanthropy and community service.
“The award for Ms. Riley’s work is well deserved,” Wilson said.
Veda Barlow, left to right, Jerry Milton III and Kelsie Gradney strike a pose for their “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” dance in Of Moving Colors “Kick It Out.”
As the show approaches, Wilson’s excitement builds.
“There’s a feeling of great anticipation for me when we start putting on the show every year,” she said. are on top, and the kids are precious, it’s definitely a show not to be missed.
‘Kick It Out… It’s Entertainment’
From the annual Moving Colors production featuring a community cast of young dancers.
4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Manship Theater at the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St.
$13 to $35.
(225) 344-0334 or manshiptheatre.org.
