I am excited to share that our annual fundraising gala is back, featuring CHiLDREN OF THE SUN, a choreopoem by Shirley Bradley Price LeFlore, which will take place on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at The Grandel Theater in St. Louis, Missouri.
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT METROTIX: 314.534.1111
Our first SBLF Fundraiser Gala, showcasing Rivers of Women, The Play, was a tremendous success in 2022, despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. During that time, schools and businesses were adapting to a new hybrid reality, and with the uncertainty of sporadic COVID spikes, we chose to delay the launch of SBLF’s programs. Now, as we celebrate SBLF’s 5th Anniversary, we are thrilled to announce the eagerly awaited return of the SBLF Fundraiser Gala!
“We’re bringing yesterdaze into todaze, creating new images that scream like a bird on a fence, (don’t cha kill em) for they soul be wired to electrify!” ~ Shirley Bradley Price LeFlore (Lyah has the same intention, to electrify the soul of St. Louis)
Shirley wrote with a deep affinity to women and children, and with the tremendous reception to the performance of Rivers of Women, The Play, the upcoming show entitled CHiLDREN OF THE SUN, will feature a multi-ethnic cadre of young performers who will bring to life the poetry Shirley wrote dedicated to young people.
Selected poems from Shirley’s sweeping Songs of River Magic, that was originally produced by Metro Theater Circus, and went on to grace the stages of The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, will bookend and be woven throughout the show. Additionally, audiences will hear and see for the first time, her collected works entitled, Emoshuns. These whimsical yet poignant poems connect the colors of the rainbow with the emotions children feel. Audiences will also see performances from her noted “Behavior As Theater” production that captured the experiences of girls and boys 8-15 years old struggling to find their voice and place in the future. Music will thread the needle as Alerica Anderson’s original score and reimagined arrangements of songs like “If You Believe” from The Wiz by Charlie Smalls, and Tevin Campbell’s breakout “Tomorrow,” will take center stage. Finally, dancers from the dynamic, Pointe of Surrender Dance Company will bring the magic of tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop to the stage, throughout. And the never-before-heard performance of Shirley’s choreopoem, CHiLDREN OF THE SUN, is sure to bring the house down! It will be an electrifying evening you won’t want to miss.
My mother had been writing poems and stories for children and adolescents for years and she had dreams of publishing a series of books for young people, but she unfortunately passed before doing so. Now, we will finish what she set out to do! In archiving her works, I discovered dozens of richly told poems and stories about children and their curiosity about the world, but also their journey of self-discovery and understanding one’s feelings. I was especially captivated when I read her pieces dedicated to adolescent and teen girls and boys. Her words captured the raw emotions of a young person grappling with fear and anger, but also their vulnerability and innocence.
Whenever she spoke to young people, Shirley always reminded them that their words were their weapons, they could hurt or heal, and that they held so much power in their voices. She wanted kids to dream, despite and in spite of their circumstances. Shirley wanted all children to have an opportunity to stretch their wings and fearlessly fly. Now her words will live onstage as well as the in the forthcoming poetry collection, CHiLDREN OF THE SUN.
~Lyah Beth LeFlore-Ituen, Executive Director
