Inspiring Through Art

by Robert Henry

Jordan Simmons has been making a difference in the lives of children and young adults for more than two decades. In Richmond, Calif., where he oversees the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, his students come from an area that struggles daily with poverty, drug use and crime.

"They’re young people who may have been let down by adults their whole lives," says Simmons, the center’s artistic director. "Our first step at the center is to try to change that."

And change it he does. This year, the center will educate 1,300 students, teaching them art forms ranging from classical chamber music to filmmaking, in order to give them hope and prepare them for the future.

"We try to give under-served kids the artistic skills to compete with other young people who have economic advantages and access to more resources," says Simmons, 47, who lives in nearby El Cerrito, Calif. (pop. 23,171). "Basically, we’re trying to give opportunity to kids who haven’t had a lot of opportunity in their lives."

Simmons first came to the center in 1968—the year it opened—as a student. "I started as a scholarship student playing piano."

He joined the staff in 1978, as a way of giving back to his community. "It occurred to me that change was about being in your own home or own city and doing what you do. I thought we could use something positive here. We should support the beautiful and joyous part of Richmond, instead of talking about the lack of beauty in human beings."

His mission to "make a difference" has never wavered. His job now includes teaching, producing shows and creating learning programs. He also works with a staff of 50 artists, hiring them from throughout the San Francisco Bay area to ensure that the students’ goal is to strive for the best work possible.

"We often put the students on stage with professional artists, expecting them to hold their own," Simmons says. "We’ve found that high expectations get high results."

Students, for example, performed in sold-out performances of a revolutionary and unique program of Sub-Saharan African dance at the University of California’s Zellerbach Auditorium in Berkeley. The program brought together, for the first time, four leading African choreographers and their dance companies.

Each year the class schedule culminates with the center’s Young Repertory Series gala, featuring the center’s nine resident performance companies, which range from Son de la Tierra (Mexican music and dance) and Mien Legends (Laotian ceremonial music and dance), to My View Film Crew and the Iron Triangle Urban Ballet.

Such an impressive roster of performing companies is one reason the center is able to have an impact on its students’ lives. Simmie Foster, now a student at Yale Medical School, says that Simmons and the center have been fundamental influences in turning her life around.

"Jordan and the center had an immense impact on my life. The center was my home when my own home wasn’t a good place to be," Foster says. "My experiences at the center gave me self-confidence, identity and a commitment to social justice. I learned how to play Bach and Schubert, to write, direct and produce, and to communicate with people from incredibly varied social and cultural backgrounds."

Simmons, however, is modest about his accomplishments, even as he oversees the center’s $1.2 million budget and confronts the conflicting demands on his time; one moment he’s teaching the Brazilian dance form capoeira, and the next moment he’s meeting with representatives of the Ford Foundation.

"It’s a 24-7 responsibility for him," says Cheryl Shaw, the center’s managing director. "Students and parents have commented on how they appreciate coming here because it’s a safe place to be. They feel like the staff and faculty respect them. That’s part of the whole culture that’s been developed under Jordan’s leadership."

"It’s actually hard for some people to believe that a collective such as ours exists," Simmons says, "that we do what we do and thrive doing it. Maybe we can be an inspiration for the imagination and efforts of others."

Robert Henry is a freelance writer from Los Angeles.

first appeared: 11/14/2004