Capitol Movement Reimagined: A Tribute Show
Capitol Movement, Inc.
Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival
Washington, D.C.
February 28, 2020
Capitol Movement Reimagined: A Tribute Show exploded with energy, performing 19 pieces in 90 minutes. Nineteen! Friday night’s sold-out performance at the Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival was a bittersweet celebration of 15 years in the DMV and the companies’ last full concert season. Capitol Movement was founded by Amber Yancey and Stephanie Jokokian to overcome socio-economic barriers to elite-level dance training. Jokokian is also the director of the Washington football team’s cheerleaders, who made several appearances in the show. The theater filled to the brim with an enthusiastic audience who shouted encouragement to their loved ones and clapped along.
The dance equivalent of a short-story anthology, each piece had a different choreographer with their own style -- Afro-Caribbean, lyrical, hip-hop, Broadway jazz, contemporary ballet, and even cheerleaders-in-training. Pieces alternated between the Capital Movement Dance Company (CMDCo), Capitol Movement Pre-professional Company (Pre-Pro), CMI Kidz, the Redskins Cheerleaders Training Program, and the Rockin’ the Heels Dancers group. Song choices were as varied as Bette Middler, Lizzo, and Ed Sheeran.
The variety sometimes gave me whiplash. A group of adult women in lingerie and army print pants gyrated to “American Woman” with Carmen Electra-inspired moves. Directly after, six-year-olds bopped to Daddy Yankee. Next, a highly synchronized, jaunty contemporary piece with adults in bright-colors evoked the musical T.V. show “Glee.” The common thread was high energy. Every dancer was dancing their hearts out, no matter their age or skill level.
“TBT,” choreographed by Sabina Henry and performed by CMDCo, was one of the best in the show. Six women in ’90s style hip-hop denim jeans and jackets and big hoop earrings rocked fierce attitudes and strong movements. Their energy was infectious as they competed in a twerk off, tongues sticking out, and sang along to the hip-hop mash-up of Chingy, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West. They emitted a masculine energy as they grabbed their crotches then popped their knees while lifting their heels.
Contemporary piece “Gravity” examined gun violence as school girls in purple polos and black skirts walked in straight lines around the stage while Toddrick Hall’s anti-gun anthem “Defying Gravity” urged: “Point your coward guns/Taking loved ones everyday/Something’s gotta change.” One dancer pulled another out of line and repeatedly shoved her to the ground. She was held back by the others, who lifted her while she kept trying to run, then cartwheeled over while they held her arms in place.
The cheerleaders were fun, but tonally incongruent. It was odd that a group of women in daisy dukes and see-through white crop tops, clearly aimed at the male-gaze, opened with Diana Ross’s infectious “I’m Coming Out!” a song that has become an LGBTQ anthem. They went on to slap their own butts and wind their hips to lyrics like “this club so packed, these hoes so drunk,” maintaining perfectly plastered-on smiles.
The crowd whooped as CMI Kidz, ages 5 to 13, brought back popular ’90s dance moves like the Kid-’n-Play kickstep, Salt-’n-Pepa’s push it, and the Milli Vanilli. Other highlights included an unfortunately uncredited but stunning soloist with amazingly clean pirouettes in a Broadway jazz number to Bette Midler’s “Stuff Like That There,” and an emotionally-charged lyrical performance to Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me.”
For the finale, all of the dancers (minus the cheerleaders) erupted in a huge dance party, each showing off their best moves. Keeping a dance company and studio afloat is difficult, and it was with sadness that Capitol Movement announced this would be its final show. The organization will be closing its studios and moving to an “on-demand” structure of requested appearances and workshops rather than regular classes and performances. The technique and enthusiasm Capitol Movement imparted to their students was truly remarkable, and a loss for the D.C. dance community.
Photos: top, by Tony Powell
bottom, by Diana Adams