Thimes headlines Dunham fundraiser

Homegrown and esteemed jazz vocalist Denise Thimes will headline An Evening of Jazz, a fundraising concert to benefit The Katherine Dunham Children’s Workshop. The event takes place Sunday, December 1 at the Grand Marias Golf Club, at 5802 Lake Dr. in Centreville, Ill.

Dancers from The Katherine Dunham Children’s Workshop – directed and choreographed by Master Instructor Ruby Streate – will kick things off with a pre-show performance.

Thimes has taught theatre, music, and dance workshops in East St. Louis School District 189. She worked under the direction of Ralph Greene, former director and coordinator of The Katherine Dunham Center for the Performing Arts. 

“We were able to go in and create an artistic atmosphere for the kids,” she said.

“Studies have shown that children who can express themselves through music, drawing, [and] poetry have a tendency to excel in their academics as well.”

She will perform a variety of music – jazz, pop, and blues – during her 70-minute set at the fundraiser.

The event comes on the heels of Leverne Backstrom’s public cry for help.

“We don’t have a steady revenue stream coming into the museum,” said Backstrom, board president of the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities.

The Dunham Centers generally operates on a month-to-month basis and heavily depends on individual and corporate donations for its survival, she said.

Ameren UE Illinois provided a $2,000 underwriting grant to produce the fundraiser, requesting that 85 percent of the funds go toward dance classes and educational programming at the Children’s Workshop. The Dunham Centers pockets the remaining 15 percent to cover day-to-day operational costs.

Backstrom said The Dunham Centers recently was on the verge of having its lights cut off. Gwendolyn Downs, of University City, immediately picked up the phone and unselfishly offered Backstrom a generous donation.

Downs preferred not to “toot her own her horn” when asked to disclose the donation amount.

“I sent them what I could afford,” she said.

Another devastating blow occurred when The Dunham Centers was vandalized.

“Someone backed a truck up to the back of the museum and stole all the air compressor units,” Backstrom said.

She said funds from a one-time $100,000 grant awarded by the State of Illinois, earmarked specifically to cover infrastructure costs at The Dunham Centers, will be used to replace the air compressor units. The grant came as a result of Illinois state Representative Eddie Lee Jackson Sr.’s efforts at the state level.

Long-term fundraising efforts are being discussed.  

“People just don’t realize that if they would give $15 and you get enough people to do that, that’s going to make a difference,” Downs said.

Dunham was a legend in her time, she said, who gave much of herself to the East St. Louis community.

“We, as African Americans, need to come forward, if we want to see this stay alive and all the work continue,” she said.

Backstrom said The Dunham Centers “is one of the positive, culturally-enriching parts of the City of East St. Louis” that has had an impact on numerous young lives.

“Ms. Dunham could’ve left her legacy anywhere in the world but she elected East St. Louis,” she said. “It’s incumbent upon us to keep that legacy alive and thriving for generations to come.”

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, December 1. Show runs from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. For more information, contact Leverne Backstrom at (618) 795 -5970.