Art for Artists' Sake

Action pact: The Community Education Center is dedicated to providing both artists and students with practical, creative experiences, like this capoeira class. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

For 30 years, the CEC has been a haven for arts education.

by Deni Kasrel

Mid-afternoon on Sunday, a group of men and women gamely work at negotiating the fine points of salsa. Buster Adams, the class instructor, takes everyone through intricacies of the dance style, demonstrating everything from footwork to proper dance etiquette to holding hands so they won¹t get entangled during turns. After that class wraps up, another group streams into the studio -- this one¹s a crew of young women looking to learn the ins and outs of hip-hop as taught by Moncell Durden.

So it goes at West Philadelphia's Community Education Center, more commonly known as the CEC, where dance and martial arts classes run throughout the week. Kids can get into the act through an afterschool program.

For the community, the classes are a way to learn a diverse array of movement-oriented techniques. Terri Shockley, CEC executive director, however, views the classes in the same light as the Center's residencies, performance series and low-cost rehearsal space: Every program we have here is connected to helping artists, she says. Shockley notes how the classes provide the instructors a source of income through a means that's related to their craft, as opposed to being a waiter. Likewise, the afterschool program not only gets kids engaged in creative activity, it also helps artists develop teaching skills. We are helping some artists to go into education, she observes.

The notion that the CEC is for artists first and foremost is not altogether new, but it does represent a departure from the organization's original purpose, as conceived 30 years ago. When it started, in 1973, the Center was overseen by the Philadelphia School District, which used it as a teacher training center, alternative middle school and woodworking shop. The local community held civic meetings in the space -- a tradition that continues today. In the late '70s the middle school moved out, several community programs moved in, and the CEC began planting the seeds of its arts orientation: It rented space to a dance troupe, and a film series was launched along with the CEC Canteen, featuring social events for the neighborhood. In the early '80s the School District pulled out entirely. CEC board members who were determined to preserve the stone structure -- a former Quaker meetinghouse dating to the 1850s -- embarked on a fundraising effort to finance much-needed building improvements. Following the face-lift, the Center started producing regular arts events, with a series titled Performance in an Informal Space. Randy Dalton, a former board member and currently artist-in-residence at the CEC, recalls, We mixed it up. It was like The Ed Sullivan Show. We made people move their seats around to see the different acts. A residency called Independent Performing Artists Project was also initiated.

These programs, which evolved into what is now known as the New Edge series, have presented a multitude of creative folks, including Robert Burden, Louise Gillette, Joan Huckstep, Martha McDonald, Eric Schoefer, Leah Stein and Rebecca Sloan. The full list reads like a who's-who of the local performance and dance scene, but in the vast majority of instances these individuals were just emerging when they appeared at the CEC. The opportunity has helped jump-start many a career, including that of Raphael Xavier, co-director of olive Dance Theatre, who also teaches break dance at the CEC. That residency was a real catalyst for what's going on with me now, asserts Xavier, who says that several people who have since helped advance his career were introduced to his work through the New Edge program.

While the success of the artist's residency is undeniable, the CEC has weathered its share of difficulties, most notably in the area of top-level leadership, which for a while seemed like a revolving door of executive directors. The instability led certain significant funders to pull their support. To make matters worse, the Center recently lost a big chunk of its budget -- $50,000 -- due to cuts in state funding. Shockley and the board remain resilient in their resolve to cultivate arts in the community. They are in the process of finalizing a long-range strategic plan that will clarify the CEC's mission and set goals for the future. Enhancements to the building are envisioned, coupled with a major capital campaign.

The Center looks forward to the future, and celebrates its past, with a first annual open house and outdoor festival on Oct. 12. Held right outside its 35th and Lancaster address, the event features members of the Kumquat Collective (which is based in the CEC) along with a slew of other area performers, including Spiral Q Puppet Theater and Tomas Dura, as well as Cutumba Folkloric Ballet of Cuba.

Beyond the 30th-anniversary celebration, the challenges are substantial, yet board chair Elaine Simon maintains a glass-is-half-full attitude. A lot of other organizations would have died in this situation, she states. But there has always been enough commitment to keep things going.

The CEC¹s first annual open house and outdoor festival takes place Sun., Oct. 12, noon-6 p.m., free, 3500 Lancaster Ave., 215-387-1911.

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