Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Atlas Cops and Kids Boxers in Hollywood, on Broadway, and in Wooster Group Summer Institute

To be a great boxer, you have to be an entertainer. Atlas Cops and Kids connects youth with diverse opportunities for advancement, including film, television, theater, and music.



Christopher "Lil Bhopp" Colbert, Jr., undefeated pro featherweight, poses on the red carpet at the L.A. Film Festival. Bhopp stars in Jay Bulger's new Netflix documentary "Counterpunch," which also features trainer Aureliano Sosa, and the hip hop of Julian Sosa.

Bhopp is now in rehearsal for a role in Equalizer 2, starring Denzel Washington.



Park Hill boxer Justice Barrios (right) poses with instructor Christopher Stevenson and award-winning actor Kate Valk at the Wooster Group Summer Institute, a free summer theater program co-founded by Valk and Ariana Scott Truman.

Kids in the Summer Institute encounter a text and study a physical discipline – this summer it was the film "Rebel Without a Cause" and swing dancing – and then work together to develop and perform an ensemble piece in the experimental tradition of the Wooster Group.


"We are exposing the kids to process," explains Truman. "How do you work together and not be worried about risks, not be afraid of failure, throw yourself wholeheartedly into experimentation?"

"Justice is a magical kid. So gracious and mature. Even though boxing is a solitary sport, it's instilled him with a sense of community."


Flatbush Gardens boxer Muhammed Deen just returned from a life-changing summer exchange program in New Zealand. Deen always wins Atlas Cops and Kids' $50 prize for his academic averages and was nominated for the prestigious Posse Foundation Scholarship. This spring, he performed his spoken word on Broadway before a sold-out performance of the blockbuster "Hamilton."