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Miss Bonnie Cokinos, Lady of the Dance, Sets the Barre High for All Time
By Kathie Platt
Like hundreds of other young girls, and a few young men, my two daughters spent part of their childhoods and much of their adolescence under the discerning guidance of Miss Bonnie at the Bonnie Cokinos School of Dance. Several evenings a week (and, later, on Saturdays too as members of Beaumont Ballet Theatre’s Senior Company), my daughters received instruction in all forms of dance, as well as instruction in life. True to her reputation, Miss Bonnie served not only as Artistic Director, but also as mentor in the art of living well, in elegance, poise and grace.
Later, after her college years, Laura, my younger daughter was working for Miss Bonnie as an assistant dance instructor, when, at age 21, she suddenly fell ill with a rare and life-threatening autoimmune disease. The mystery and surprise of Laura’s sudden suffering hit Miss Bonnie hard and she expressed her concern as Laura’s employer, mentor and guardian angel by providing heartfelt care and support before and after Laura was able to return to studio to teach the young dancers under her tutelage. Because Miss Bonnie had also suffered an illness during Laura’s adolescence, the lady of grace and graciousness had developed a special compassion for those who suffered, especially the young.
During that year Laura worked with Miss Bonnie, a year full of successes and suffering, Laura was privileged to share some of Miss Bonnie’s most vibrant moments and most intimate confidences as Grande Dame of Beaumont Ballet Theatre. Laura was constantly impressed by Miss Bonnie’s wisdom, faith, high standards and patience, her determination to help the talented and untalented alike, her undiminished loveliness. “It is such a joy just to be with her,” Laura would tell me time and time again. “Do her students realize what an honor it is?”
The day after Laura made her off Broadway debut at the Pershing Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Theatre on 42nd Street, Miss Bonnie Cokinos quietly passed away. Laura and I received a phone call later that evening informing us of this sad news as we sat sipping coffee and enjoying gelato at Via Quadranno. The juxtaposition of recent events--the long journey that had landed Laura at last in the heart of Manhattan to pursue long-deferred dreams, against the backdrop of training from Beaumont to Great Britain to off Broadway--felt even more poignant in that moment of great sadness over the loss of Beaumont’s Grande Dame of Dance. Although she had not had recent contact with Miss Bonnie, Laura felt the loss deeply, personally, as if she had lost a mother and grandmother as well. The Head of Acting from Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama had recently recognized Laura for her humanity in performance, a distinction I attribute at least in part to Miss Bonnie’s profound influence.
During the Liturgy of Christian Burial on Saturday, October 1, at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont, Sean Carmon, former student of Miss Bonnie, and now a member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City, performed a moving liturgical dance before the altar as a final tribute and benediction to Miss Bonnie. In a surprise gesture to the Lady of the Dance and her legacy to Southeast Texas, The Reverend Monsignor Jeremiah J. McGrath ended his homily with his own acapella version of the Lord of the Dance:
I danced in the morning when my life begun,
And I danced on the moon, the stars and the sun,
When I came down from Heaven above
I danced on the earth with the greatest love.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Dear of the Dance, said she,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said she.
During her sojourn with us, and more than fifty years teaching dance, Miss Bonnie lead many young dancers onto careers in the arts or otherwise—imparting an example as rich as it is rare. Full of reverence and hope, The Reverend Monsignor pronounced the Final Commendation as parishioners sang the Song of Farewell to Miss Bonnie Marie Cokinos . . . May songs of the angels welcome you and guide you along your way . . . as songs of angels bring you home before the face of God.
As sad as this farewell will be for all her dancers, and the community who loved her, Miss Bonnie’s grace continues to shower us and we are grateful for all the gifts she gave us, especially the gift of herself as the Lady of the Dance.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016 |
