Lolo wakes up at 5:30 in the morning while the sky is still dark. He jets out of his apartment in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx by 6:30 and hops the 6 train southbound to 125th to catch the 4 train northbound to Mosholu Parkway, getting to his high school in the Bronx by about 7:45. If he gets there any later, the lines outside his school prevent him from landing in his first period class by 8:15. If he’s late, even by a minute, he sits in the lunchroom for the entirety of first period. Three days out of five, Lolo is late for first period.

To quote Whitney Houston, “I believe the children are our future.” And after sitting through two grin-inducing, inspirational performances choreographed by dancers between the ages of 6 and 23, I believe this even more, particularly when contemplating a new generation of movement creators.

he Bringing the Noise youth open mic doesn’t start until 6 pm, but already teenagers swarm the sidewalk outside the venerable Nuyorican Poets Café.