performing arts for kids in St. Louis

Learn about the many classes, workshops and performances available at COCA and take part in fun, family activities during Discover COCA Day.

Triumphant unites COCA’s Pre-Professional dance companies as they take their season-ending bows and COCA’s graduating seniors grace the stage one last time.

What happens when the latest dance craze meets the orchestra? A giant dance party with your SLSO! Wear your dancing shoes—you won’t be able to keep still as you experience some of the greatest orchestral music of all time. Dancers from Ballet 314 will take you on an exploration of different dance genres, choreographed to classical favorites like Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite, Aaron Copland’s Variations on a Shaker Melody (Simple Gifts), Georges Bizet’s “Habanera” from Carmen and more!

Join your SLSO for a fun-filled Saturday morning that will have you and your youngest music-lovers dancing in your seats! The Lion and the Mouse is the perfect first introduction to orchestral music. The fully interactive, 30-minute concert will feature a story, movement activities, and dancers from COCA. This is not your ordinary symphony concert, this is an immersive experience created especially for children ages 3-6.

Metro Theater Company presents Eddie & Vinnie, a new play by Jenny Millinger best enjoyed by ages 6-12. In Eddie & Vinnie, Eddie is an unstoppable artist with a uniquely beautiful mind, and his best friend is a gecko. Together the pair spends hours making intricate and beautiful puzzles. But he'll be solving worse puzzles in summer school if he can't get his grades up.

The Carp Who Would Not Quit brings to life traditional fable tellings from Japan and Okinawa to teach important lessons of persistence, respect, and kindness. It includes live original music, language and performance traditions from these cultures and is specifically developed for young audiences.