East St. Louis Center for Performing Arts
2025-26 Performing Arts After School Registration Form
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 1967. 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 SIUE East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts has provided a culturally vibrant and equitable future where youth from historically underserved communities are empowered through consistent, high-quality, and culturally rooted arts education. Guided by the enduring legacy of Katherine Dunham, our program aims to nurture confident, expressive, and socially aware young artists who contribute meaningfully to their communities.
We ground our work in the legacy of Katherine Dunham, incorporating African diasporic cultural traditions and values into all aspects of our curriculum and programming. Cultural authenticity is a foundation for identity, pride, and empowerment. We view the arts as a tool for holistic youth development. Our teaching approach supports self-confidence, communication, discipline, emotional expression, and leadership in young people.
We actively build and maintain partnerships with families, schools, and community organizations to ensure that our work remains responsive to community needs and contributes to collective well-being.
We strive for artistic and educational excellence. Staff and students are held to high standards of respect, preparation, and performance, with support systems in place to help them succeed. We aim to instill habits of perseverance, reflection, and curiosity that serve students throughout their lives—whether they pursue the arts professionally or carry their experience into other fields.
Patricia Straughter-Williams, Director
ph: 618.482.6904
e: pastrau@siue.edu
