Among the students, ages 6-17, are first-timers and veterans. However, all enjoy being a part of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC) for the Performing Arts’ summer enrichment program.
Hollywood is the theme of this year’s annual summer camp, which began June 3 and will conclude on Friday, July 19 with a performance at 6:30 p.m. at the East St. Louis Senior High School Auditorium, 4901 State St., East St. Louis.
“I really like the environment and the people. It gives me a homey feel, and I can always be included,” said 16-year-old D’Laurea Trice, who has been part of the Performing Arts program for 11 years. “I like the dance portion of the camp the best. Each teacher brings something different. I like modern and African dance the most.”
First-time camper and longtime dancer Nia Harris could not quite decide which part of the camp she enjoyed best–the dance or the music.
“I’m enjoying the dance, the music and everything. I’m better at Dunham Technique and jazz dance, because I’ve done them for six years,” said the 10-year-old. “I’ve danced with the Katherine Dunham Museum program since I was four.”
“I hope to get better at dance,” she added, “but I want to be a veterinarian, nurse or a doctor.”
“With the discipline and interaction skills that students learn at the summer camp, they can excel in whatever career field they choose to pursue,” said TaShayla Montgomery, camp instructor and longtime Performing Arts program student. “I was a student at the East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts since the age of 10, until I graduated from the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis.”
Montgomery, who earned a bachelor’s in theater arts from Howard University in 2017, has been accepted as a scholarship student at the New York Film Academy, where she will begin in the fall.
“Coming back to SIUE to help teach for Performing Arts in the summers is honestly something I would do, even if I wasn’t getting paid,” confessed Montgomery. “I love teaching here, because thanks to this program, I’ve had many successful accomplishments. This is where I was introduced to so many things within the arts. The discipline, training and skills I learned have had a tremendous impact on how I was able to go out into the real world and be successful. That is what I want to instill into this generation through mentorship.”
Montgomery said those who influenced her most were Jack Williams and Theodore H. Jamison, director and former director, respectively of the Performing Arts program.
Mary Jo Pembrook, PhD, music instructor with the Performing Arts program for the past three years, said she has been delighted to teach students the piano and chimes.
“I love being here. It is a good fit for me,” said Pembrook. “These are great students.”
In particular, Pembrook brags on 16-year-old Aaron Strauther.
“He has such a good ear. He learns quickly,” she said. “He is an especially good student. He does exactly what I say, and he practices.”
“I practice an hour every single day,” said Strauther. “I repeat the same thing over and over again, until I get it right.”
Strauther has worked with Pembrook for three of the six years that he has been in the program. He will perform Debussy’s “Arabesque No. 1” from the movie “Green Book” during the summer performance.
Ten-year-old Summer Thomas is trying her hand at musical instruments for the first time in her life. “I’m having fun learning the piano, violin, guitar and the chimes,” she said. “I think I like the piano best, because it doesn’t hurt your fingers. I like playing the piano, too, because it’s just me and Mrs. Mary Jo.”
Other camp instructors and their teaching areas include: Venzia Manuel, ballet, Dunham Technique, praise dance, contemporary and musical theater; Gerald “Babatunde” Williams, African drums and arts and crafts; McKinney Smith, hip hop; Esau Toombs, keyboard, bass guitar, drums and saxophone; Dan Bearden, guitar; Ana Cecilia Villegas, violinist; and Gail Smith, choir.
The summer camp also serves as recruitment for the ESLC Performing Arts’ after school program that begins in the fall on a date to be determined.
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 1990’s, 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.
With a focus on empowering people and strengthening communities, the SIUE East St. Louis Center is dedicated to improving the lives of families and individuals - from pre-school through adult - in the Metro East. Head Start/Early Head Start and a charter high school are among the programs that offer the community renewed hope and an opportunity to reach educational, career and life goals. The Center also assigns first priority to encouraging, supporting and improving the educational success of the residents of East St. Louis and surrounding urban communities. The Center provides comprehensive programs, services and training in the areas of education, health, social services and the arts.
Photos:
TaShayla Montgomery, ESLC Performing Arts camp instructor and longtime program student, is seen with one of her students, 10-year-old Nia Harris.
Mary Jo Pembrook, PhD, music instructor with the Performing Arts program, (center) is shown with two of her piano students: 16-year-old Aaron Strauther (left) and 10-year-old Summer Thomas.