Dee Ban is a musician, teacher, and historian. She combines all three when she takes her autoharp into classrooms. Dee teaches history and other subjects by way of musical intelligence and primary source music. Lively discussions ensue as students encounter differing points of view passionately expressed in music. History comes alive as students learn that there are many voices of the past and they do not always agree. Her topics include: The American Revolution, Lewis and Clark, the Civil War, Black History: Slavery through Civil Rights, Songs of the Slaves, Immigration, the 1904 World's Fair, 1960's Civil Rights and Peace Movement, American Women's History, Missouri History, Voting and Election Rights, Biography in Song, Reading/Library Week, Earth Day and Ecology and more. For more than a decade Dee sung in many venues including: The Missouri History Museum, St Louis County Libraries, National Park Sites,  Missouri Botanical Garden, schools, educational conferences, folk life festivals, independent living senior centers, historical societies, and churches. With enough lead-time, Dee is happy to research and prepare new programs. Resume and brochure are available upon request.

Dianne Moran an award-winning Storyteller, Living History Performer and Chautauqua Scholar. Heritage Festivals feature her poignant portrayals including: Zerelda James (Frank and Jesse’s Mama), Miep Gies (Anne Frank Family protector), and condemned conspirator in the Lincoln assassination, Mary Surratt. Other recognizable personages include, Calamity Jane, Mother Jones, Lizzie Borden, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Titanic and 1904 World’s Fair characters. Schools augment their curriculums with her programs of Colonial America, Revolutionary War, Lewis & Clark, Civil War, Wagon Train, Ellis Island and The Holocaust. Programs feature a performance in historic dress, a Q and A with the audience and end with the viewing of a relic display.

The Rep’s Imaginary Theatre Company, the touring ensemble of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, invites teachers and their students to share all the wonder, poetry, wit, drama and excitement that only live theatre can bring. ITC's high quality stage work will not only nurture love of the arts but will also enhance teachers' educational programs. The literature-based productions honor and value a story well-told while supporting the Missouri Learning Standards. ITC's specialty is taking audiences into a magic world that will spark the imagination.

Jeff Miller's programs are "Laughter Guaranteed!" An award-winning poet, performance artist, and storyteller, he is featured nationally at poetry, storytelling, music, and folk-life festivals. His performances are highly-original, filled with unusual oral histories he has personally collected, jokes and stories embellished and turned into narrative poems, and outrageous and inspirational gems (sometimes within the same story!) birthed from his vivid imagination or adventurous experiences. Workshops include "Tapping Your Creativity", "Writing and Performing Poems", and "Creating Empathy through Storytelling". His three books have been described as "much, much funnier than anything Stephen King has ever written."

Now celebrating our 50th year! Kansas City Young Audiences works with a roster of nearly 200 teaching artists to provide dynamic and educational arts programs to children in schools, libraries, community centers, and hospitals throughout the greater Kansas City area. With performances, residencies, workshops, and after-school programs in nearly every artistic discipline and covering numerous academic subjects KCYA's School & Community programs reinforce core curriculum as well as cultivate artistic expression; unleashing ideas, creativity, and individual problem solving skills.

This energetic husband and wife team presents a wide variety of classical song, arias, and solo piano works alongside light jazz/popular songs and piano pieces. Lyric Duo has toured throughout the U.S. and China and its performances have been broadcast on television stations, including KSCI-TV, Los Angeles, and Nanjing Broadcasting, China. Lyric Duo is deeply committed to the education of young audiences and performers. It offers school programs for all grades as well as master classes for colleges/universities, and music teachers’ organizations.

Mesner Puppet Theater has been delighting audiences with their compelling and humorous storytelling performances for over 30 years. This award-winning puppet theater's available touring performances include The Cat Came Back, The Adventures of Rabbit & Coyote, Ringo’s Sing Along Road Trip, and Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale. Mesner Puppet Theater creates and builds all its puppets in-house, reflecting a diverse and colorful array of puppet characters. Mesner Puppet Theater performs throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area and tours around the United States and internationally. Mesner Puppet Theater offers a Puppets in Education program highlighting innovative classes and workshops throughout the year.

Missouri Contemporary Ballet is a professional dance company that creates exciting, edgy, hip entertaining performances to communicate to audiences of all ages through live dance programs of the highest quality. They provide educational and outreach performances to schools, retirement homes, and organizations throughout Missouri. MCB is one of a small number of companies in the US that is exploring the relatively new genre of dance, contemporary ballet, which blends classical training in ballet with modern and jazz movement.

For over 43 years, MADCO has provided community inspired, innovative dance experiences through collaborations that open a pathway for self- discovery, social connections, and excellent entertainment for audience members, students, teachers, presenters, and corporate clients. The company is proud to co-partner and share facility space with the St. Louis Academy of Dance. MADCO was described in International Dance Magazine as “an army of terrific dancers with high energy, flat- out physicality and exacting discipline, while never forgetting the entertainment value.” MADCO suggests pairing education & outreach programming with any performance to create a lasting impact on your community. You can find more information at www.madcodance.com.

Ronald Radford is the world-renowned master of red-hot flamenco guitar and inspirational Gypsy wisdom. A protégé of the legendary Carlos Montoya and Fulbright Scholar to Spain, Radford's masterful performance and illuminating commentary create an unforgettable experience of the soul-stirring Gypsy music of Spain. Radford's warm and engaging program has met with standing ovations and rave reviews in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and in fifteen countries on four continents. He was proclaimed in Mexico City as "An absolutely extraordinary event!" and in Madrid they wrote, "He has 'duende' the Spanish equivalent of soul." Ron plays from the heart, and so he touches the hearts of others. Read the reviews, listen to his CD and watch a video preview at www.RonaldRadford.com.

Sergei, a native of Ukraine, is a teaching artist with a Master’s degree in Music Education from the Gnessin Institute in Moscow. He presents two programs, Russian Kaleidoscope, and Ukrainian Kaleidoscope. His educationally-based presentations teach through assemblies and workshops which focus on native music, dance, and folk art. While experiencing the excitement of learning through the arts, the students gain knowledge about the language, geography, history, customs, and traditions of the country. Both programs are available in a one-day format or as a residency. Teaching Guides are provided. His powerful combination of lessons set the stage for students to fully appreciate and find success in the world they are inheriting. Sergei knows how to connect with students and deliver a powerful and memorable message that “Culture Matters.”

With a combined history of over 100 years as Springboard to Learning and Young Audiences of St. Louis, Springboard to Learning has positively impacted millions of under-resourced students and teachers throughout St. Louis through arts-integrated, creative programming, and pedagogy, igniting a love of learning. Over 125 distinct programs, taught by knowledgeable teaching artists and content specialists, are available throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area, the eastern half of Missouri, and the Metro East area of Illinois. 

St. Louis Dancing Classrooms (SLDC) is a social and emotional learning program that cultivates essential life skills in students through the practice of ballroom dance. SLDC Teaching Artists model, instruct, and guide students in developing important skills and behaviors including civility, respect, teamwork, and self-discipline whilst teaching the basic steps of six different ballroom dances. SLDC currently offers both in-person and online residency options. Please contact, Angie Brooks for more information.

NEW!!  During COVID-19, SLDC is bringing the benefits of our program to students ONLINE! Through a series of pre-recorded and “live” online lessons, students will learn a variety of social dances from around the world. Homeroom Edition residencies support students’ social, emotional, and physical needs.

For grades 3-5, in-school or after-school

Works with 100% remote OR blended learning schedules

Lessons are 30 minutes or less

Flexible program structure

ZERO cost

A performance of Shakespeare by our touring ensemble, TourCo, will dazzle your students, inspiring them to read, respond, reflect, discuss, and write. in 2020, we will presents a 90-minute touring production and living study guide of Cymbeline. One of Shakespeare’s final plays – and one of his greatest achievements – ​Cymbeline is a romantic adventure story on an epic scale. It tells the story of Innogen, the princess of Britain, who embarks on a dangerous journey to find her husband and through courage and ingenuity clears her good name. Combining elements of comedy, tragedy, history and fairy tale, ​Cymbeline is not only a summation of Shakespeare’s incomparable career but a dazzling piece of showmanship that culminates in one of the most masterful final scenes of revelation and reconciliation in the canon. Featuring an inventive and energetic company of six actors, the Shakespeare Festival TourCo’s production offers a fast-paced, easy-to-understand performance of this underappreciated gem that revels in all the unbridled theatricality of a writer pushing the boundaries of what a play can be.

Students will be greeted first by the actors and led through discussion and activity prior to the start of the show, called the Living Study Guide, to increase performance literacy. How do we decipher, understand, and analyze a performance that you are unfamiliar with? How do we as audience members know which part of the performance is most important to understanding and enjoyment? The Tour Co will walk audiences through skill level appropriate exercises and discussion topics to break down the mystique and foreignness of Shakespeare’s plays and language. The performance of the show that follows will be appropriately set up for the audience in a unique way designed to provide definitions, vocabulary preview, authorial information, and structural patterns.

Giant bugs! Tiny elephants! Flying birds! Audience interaction! Toe-tapping original music! StoneLion Puppet Theatre is a professional company using multiple styles of puppetry, including marionettes, masks, shadow, mouth and rod puppets, to bring the magic of theater to life. Shows are fresh, original, and educational and can be performed for audiences of 30 to 10,000. For over 29 years StoneLion has toured internationally with literature based work or their highly acclaimed environmental series such as Stellaluna, Little Red Hen’s Community Garden, Backyard Buggin’, Down the Drain or The Frog Prints. Shows match core curriculum. StoneLion is also on the Kansas City Young Audiences and  Mid America Regional Council touring rosters. StoneLion for the past eight years has been funded by the US State Department as an Arts Envoy, training teachers overseas to use arts education in curriculum and bringing our shows to life. StoneLion is gaining world-wide recognition for our giant puppet spectacles and illuminated glow events. StoneLion's Artistic Director received the Outstand Community Partner award from the Kansas Association of Conservation and Environmental (KACEE) for our excellence in Environmental Arts Education and the Lighton Prize as teaching artist of the year.

Tamara introduces her audiences to the sunny land of Spain. Her educational, interactive program combines dance, music, video and images. The rhythm of Spanish music carries the participants through a presentation filled with Spanish language, castanets, fancy heelwork and hand clapping.  Tamara has been a faculty member of the Kansas City Ballet School since 2008.  Dance workshops include basic foot patterns, steps and postures executed in the traditional flamenco style. Suitable for schools, colleges and community groups.

Student audiences are invited to laugh as they learn with the award-winning DisAbility Project. This theatre ensemble enhances public awareness about various disabilities through original, high-quality theatre. The program empowers individuals, honors their stories, sparks imaginations, and encourages dialogue about disability issues in our community. Ensemble members, both with and without disabilities, present scenes about the true-life experiences of people with disabilities in a format designed to educate and also entertain. Performances are tailored for students of all ages and also school district personnel. Age-appropriate study guides can assist with preparation or follow up learning. All questions are encouraged in the concluding Q&A session with the DP performers.

Emmy® Award winning recording artists and conservationists Jan and George Syrigos capture audiences with a musical adventure exploring wildlife, habitats and natural history. “Ribbit and Roll” to their original upbeat tunes energized with motion, media and the conservation message. Combining 19 years of conservation experience and training with their Parents Choice-recommended music, WildHeart truly brings the heart of the wild, to the heart of the child! Jan and George are deeply committed to sharing their combined passions for nature and music in creative and engaging ways, offering school programs, teacher workshops, and concerts for adults and children. WildHeart’s songs are strongly tied to Missouri Learning Standards.