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Within three days of opening its registration, more than 100 students had signed up for the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts (ESLCPA) summer program. 

The summer classes will end with a production at 6 p.m. Friday, July 24, in the Multipurpose Room of Building D at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus (ESLHEC), 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. in East St. Louis. The production is free. 

Six instructors have worked with students, ages six through 17, teaching dance in ballet, jazz, West African, hip hop and offering instruction in vocals, instrumentation and drumming. Students were also treated to arts and crafts classes and field trips designed to expose them to history and culture.

The instructors included Jack Williams, E.L. Wilkes, Gerald Babatunde’ Sylla (artist director of Kumasi Kambeng in Venice) Arturo Miller, Venezia Manuel and TaShayla Montgomery. Sylla, who participated in the program as a student in 1983 and is also a seamstress, is sewing the costumes for Friday night’s performance.

“The community is more than excited to have had the program presented again this summer,” said Williams, ESLCPA summer program coordinator at the SIUE East St. Louis Center. Williams first joined the program 33 years ago as a staff member, when it was the Katherine Dunham Center for Performing Arts (KDCPA). World-renowned dancer, anthropologist and choreographer Katherine Dunham founded KDCPA.

Performing Arts has been a part of the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) curriculum for more than five years. However, the ESLCPA hasn’t offered its stand-alone program or a summer component in several years.    

“It’s an awesome thing to have been able to offer Performing Arts again this summer,” said Wilkes, music director at CHS and a Performing Arts staff member for 22 years. “It’s really been a blessing to have the program back, and hopefully it will continue. We have gotten a lot of support from the community: mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and everybody!”

“I’m also grateful to Jesse Dixon, ESLC director; and Shrylene C. Langston, ESLC assistant director; for supplying instruments and anything we needed,” Wilkes added.

Also happy to have Performing Arts back on stage is Manuel, who attended ESLCPA from the ages of six through 18. Manuel is teaching West African, jazz, ballet, hip hop, step and praise dance to children, ages nine through 12 and 13-17. 

“I’ve been working this summer to give back,” Manuel said. “As a student, it helped me to see things differently. It gave me discipline, focus and made me more of a leader.” 

For Montgomery, attending Performing Arts classes at the East St. Louis Center gave her something positive to do. “In the projects all I saw were kids running around and fighting,” she said. “But I was so busy that I couldn’t focus on the negative. Dance kept me stable and focused on the future.

“I tell the students to stay focused, work hard, and it will pay off,” Montgomery continued. “Performing arts will teach you discipline and patience. You will be able to use that in whatever profession you choose.” 

Courtney Singleton, longtime Performing Arts parent, agrees that the program helps to positively motivate and impact children.

“It gives girls more confidence,” Singleton said, “and it gives the boys something to do other than sports. The program gives them an outlet and gets them off the couch for good exercise.” Singleton is a member of the Parents on the Move for the Arts, a parent-support group co-founded about 10 years ago by Alice James. The 83-year-old James has two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren in this summer’s Performing Arts program.

“I’m ecstatic. I’m over the top,” Williams said. “The summer program has rejuvenated me. We had to turn students away.” 

The success of the ESLCPA summer program resulted in several community partner requests, including one from the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center. The ESLCPA will be part of the JJK Center’s last week of summer camp, beginning July 27.

Photos:

Students in the SIUE East St. Louis Center Performing Arts summer program, ages six through eight, sing “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor. 

Performing on stage from left to right are:  Jhyran Roby, 10; T’Andre Harper, 9; and Gysai Sylla, 11. 

Demetra Brown, 14, plays “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin on the bass guitar, with help from E.L. Wilkes, music director at East St. Louis Charter High School. 

TaShayla Montgomery (left) and Venezia Manuel. Both women were longtime students in ESLCPA and have served this summer as instructors.