SIUE East St. Louis Center for Performing Arts Summer Program Now in Session
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts program has begun its summer camp 2021.
“The City of Champions” is the theme of the summer program for children ages 6-17 years old. Classes include piano, guitar, violin, African drumming, keyboards, hip-hop, ballet, Dunham Technique, West African, jazz, chorus, arts and crafts, and more.
Performing Arts instructors include Gerald Williams, Esau Toombs, Mary Jo Pembrook, PhD, Phil Ring, Ta’Shayla Montgomery and Cecillia Villegas.
Summer camp includes lunch served daily, free field trips, free T-shirts and daily enrichment classes.
“We are going to have a fantastic summer,” said Performing Arts Director Homer Simmons. “Our students are eager to learn from our highly skilled instructors, and more importantly, to have fun.”
Students can still participate. Sessions run from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday through July 16. To enroll, click on the register link.
The summer session will conclude with a free concert and dance performance at 6 p.m. Friday, July 16 at the East St. Louis Senior High School auditorium, 4901 State St.
The SIUE East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts has a long, rich history. The legendary dancer, anthropologist, and social activist Katherine Dunham founded the Center for Performing Arts at the SIUE East St. Louis Center in 1964. At its peak in the 1990s, the East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts provided year-round instruction to more than 1,000 youth and became a training ground for professional artists of all disciplines. For decades, the East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts provided performing arts classes to students and community members to develop local talent and to cultivate a love of the arts. Classes often culminated in musical and theatrical productions.
Photos:
Students in the SIUE East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts perform in a previous concert and dance performance.
