SIUE East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts Showcases its Spring Concert
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts (ESLCPA) hosted its Spring Concert on Thursday, May 16 in the Multipurpose Room of Building D of the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Center.
ESLCPA students, ages 7-17, performed a series of dance and musical numbers.
Themed “A Spring Fling,” student dance performances included a delightful mixture of modern, Jazz and hip-hop genres to “W.A.Y.S” by Jhene Aiko, choreographed by Performing Arts instructor Jaykayla Winford and performed by Karenza Cox; and “Boom Boom Pow” by The Black Eyed Peas, choreographed by Winford and performed by dance students Sariah Brown, Meadows Coats, Xiomara Cummings, Tamani Johnson, Faith Sussex and Auset Wilson.
Live music and interlude jazz medleys were performed by Performing Arts Music Coach Esau Toombs, with former Performing Arts students Kalifa Sylla and Jyion Smith.
Audiences left entertained and thrilled to witness the growth, professionalism and the undeniable gifted talent of such young performers.
Performing Arts Program Director Homer Simmons thanked parents for supporting the After School Program and encouraged early registration for the six-week Summer Performing Arts Summer Camp 2024, which begins June 3. Please register here.
The Performing Arts Summer Camp offers students, ages 7-17, classes and training in such dancing as modern, jazz, hip hop and ballet, with influences of the Katherine Dunham Technique, as well as music in piano, keyboarding, trap drumming, bass guitar and voice.
Watch for ESLCPA students next performance from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, June 1 at the AKA’s Community Fair at Jones Park in East St. Louis.
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 has provided performing arts classes to students and community members to develop local talent and to cultivate a love of the arts. The program serves children ages 6-17. Students study beginning piano and guitar, drums, bass guitar, West African drumming and multiple styles of dance. Classes often culminate in musical and theatrical productions.
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SIUE East St. Louis East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts students perform during their 2024 Spring Concert.
