Global Education

“Global Education Through the Arts”

“South St. Louis city is at the crossroads in St. Louis where Hispanic, African, Asian, Bosnian, White and African American youth live and interact. Our community has the opportunity to help these youth, faced with culture shock, learn to celebrate their differences and build upon their similarities. The arts provide a wonderful means to do this when combined with intercultural communication.” 
- Cecilia Nadal

Global Education through the Arts is a community arts project that promotes intercultural competence among economically challenged youth living in South St. Louis city. The 16-week after-school program welcomes ethnically diverse youth to learn dance, poetry, drama, and cultural diversity as a way to cultivate social skills, team building, cross-cultural communication, and conflict resolution. Participants who successfully complete the program will have the opportunity to be involved with one of Gitana’s professional main stage productions.

Successful students from the first session were selected to participate on stage with professional actors in “Complacency of Silence: Darfur,” an original play produced by Gitana which received five Kevin Kline Award nominations. Students were also involved in the play, “My Heart is Always Shaking: Afghan Women Refugees in St. Louis.” S2G Performers (Southside to Global) represent some of our most talented students who tour throughout the St. Louis region utilizing dance, drama, and improvisation.

Students have a rich immersion into the community with trips to theater, dance and musical productions, radio and television stations, festivals and museums. Last year students went to a Pow Wow in Oklahoma learning about Native American culture, attended a Nigerian celebration, and experienced an interfaith celebration of Martin Luther King.

There is no fee for students to participate and transportation support is available for those in need.  All of the art instructors are top professional artists in St. Louis. For more information or to register for an upcoming session, call 314-721-6556. Gitana collaboratively works with St. Louis Public Library's Carpenter Branch, Harmony in Life and the African Mutual Assistance Program to meet our multicultural goals.