In 2015, Antonio Douthit-Boyd was named Co-Artistic Director of Dance at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA), where he began his dance training at the age of sixteen, under Lee Nolting’s dance direction. Douthit-Boyd returned to COCA after a fulfilling dance career in New York City.
He’s trained at the Alexandra School of Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, Joffrey Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, and Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem School. Douthit-Boyd joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company in 2000 under the direction of Arthur Mitchell and quickly appeared in featured roles choreographed by George Balanchine; “The Four Temperaments,” “Agon,” and “Serenade.” He’s also appeared in the ballets “Fancy Free,” “South African Suite,” “Dougla,” “Concerto in F,” “Return,” and “Twist.” After three years with the company, he rose to the rank of Soloist in 2003. Douthit-Boyd went on to join the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2004, where he danced as a principal artist for twelve years with the company. He has had the pleasure of working with world-renowned choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison, Robert Battle, Wayne MacGregor, Jiri Kylian, and Paul Taylor.
Some of his revered featured roles with the company; Alvin Ailey’s “I Wanna Be Ready” (a solo from Revelation), “Polish Pieces” by Hans van Manen, “Firebird” by Maurice Bejart, “Episodes,” “Bad Blood,” and “Urban Folk Dance” by Ulysses Dove. During his performance career, he has performed for President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, Michael Jackson, and a list of high-profile patrons of the arts. In his tenure with the company, he has garnered critical acclaim from news outlets such as The Sun, Dance Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times; “Among the many superb dancers of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Antonio Douthit-Boyd has recently risen to a special magnificence,” Chief of Dance Critic Alastair Macaulay, and The New York Times, whose Chief of Dance Critic, Alastair Macaulay wrote, “Among the many superb dancers of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Antonio Douthit-Boyd has recently risen to a special magnificence.”
Douthit-Boyd is an ABT® Certified Teacher who has completed the ABT® Teacher Training Program for Pre-Primary–6/7 and Partnering through the ABT® National Training Curriculum. He is also on faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, teaching ballet as a Distinguished Performing Artist in the collaborative MFA program between the University and COCA. In 2021 Douthit-Boyd and his husband Kirven Douthit-Boyd will receive the Excellence in the Arts Award from The St. Louis Arts and Education Council in St. Louis, Missouri. The Douthit-Boyd’s are committed to high-quality arts for everyone and the intentional task to diversify the arts to reflect the world’s many colors. Douthit- Boyd is currently a practicing candidate for his Master of Fine Arts Degree from Hollins University.