11.20.18: Philadelphia – (Culture): Many decades ago, in the basement of a Mt. Airy home, a ping-pong table was propped up on crates with a lighting rig hanging above. It was the makeshift stage for then six-year-old Mr. Edward Leon Evans, who saw on television, and wanted to emulate, a young Michael Jackson.
“When he was a baby, he was always dancing,” recalled Mrs. Angelique Cauthorn-Evans, the showman’s younger sister.
But Mr. Evans wasn’t just a dancer. He also sang and choreographed.
Twenty-seven years ago, Mr. Evans created and staged ‘Carols in Colors,’ a Philadelphia holiday tradition that, according to his sister, was made to be an alternative to The Nutcracker. The production, which retells the Gospel according to St. Matthew, will this year occur on December 15th and 16th.
“The longevity of ‘Carols in Color’ is what I’m most proud of,” Mrs. Cauthorn-Evans told me on Monday night.
A lively, middle-aged woman with a compelling personality, Mrs. Cauthorn-Evans can, and does, easily tout her older brother’s accomplishments. However, that wasn’t always the case.
He was just my brother, I couldn’t understand why everyone was making such a big deal about him… I thought everyone could sing and dance and was on Broadway by age 14, she said.
“It took him to pass away for me to realize he was special,” Mrs. Cauthorn-Evans revealed.
Mr. Evans at age 34 succumbed to the AIDS virus. Three years prior to his August 1998 demise, the wunderkind created Eleone Dance Theater. On his death bed, Mr. Evans asked his two friends, Mr. Shawn Lemere (now Mr. Shawn Lemere-Williams), and Ms. Sheila Ward (now Dr. Sheila Ward), to promise to keep his legacy alive.
They’ve kept their word.
Mr. Lemere-Williams, who’s celebrating his 20th anniversary as the co-director of Eleone Dance Theater, on Monday night was a social butterfly. Masterfully, he worked the room, talking to every potential donor who had visited the dance company’s new South Philadelphia headquarters.
The walls of the building at 25th & Moore Street are decorated with awards, plaques and pictures that boast of Eleone Dance Theater’s contribution to the arts community here and elsewhere. There’s even a picture of a younger Mr. Lemere-Williams at City Hall with an equally younger Mayor W. Wilson Goode, the city’s first black chief executive.
But the wall of fame can be a bit deceptive, as it could be interpreted as a never-ending stream of good luck.
“People think because you got a business, or you run a nonprofit… they don’t know it’s hard, especially with funding. I’ve become discouraged a lot,” said Mr. Lemere-Williams, who disclosed that the company was gentrified out of their last home.
In a moment of candor, Mr. Lemere-Williams said he didn’t think the company would last beyond two or three years after its founder’s passing. He was just hitting thirty and still wanted to have a dance career. But the commitment he made to his dying friend has always been the motivation to stay the path.
“Every time I get discouraged, I have to go back to that day when he asked us to please keep his legacy alive,” Mr. Lemere-Williams said.
Mrs. Cauthorn-Evans was overwhelmed with emotion when we talked about the love and loyalty people have for her brother.
“You can’t help but shed a tear… they love him,” she said. “For a man to take his best friend’s dream and continue it… the hero of the story is Shawn Lemere.”
Mrs. Cauthorn-Evans went on to say: “My hats goes off to Shawn and Sheila for continuing to persevere when funding wasn’t there.”
And persevere they shall.
Mr. Lemere-Williams, despite the many accolades he and his company can claim, said his biggest moment has yet to occur. He’s hopeful for the company’s first international tour. And the first stop on that tour?
“Anywhere in Europe, he said.”
But for now, the 50-year-old dance instructor is focused on raising the funds to continue the renovation of the former kickboxing-gym-turned-dance-studio, and ingratiating the company to the neighbors they inherited in over the summer.
“I want to get the neighborhood involved. We want to rock South Philly!” Pennsylvania State Representative Jordan Harris, whose district includes the land where Eleone Dance Theater now occupies, is among the neighbors who’ve expressed glee at their presence.
“The arts have always been important to the South Philadelphia community. Eleone Dance Theater is a much needed and welcomed addition to our community. Shawn Lemere-Williams is a legend and a native son and I’m glad to be supporting Eleone,” the state official said in a statement obtained exclusively by Techbook Online.
Mr. Lemere-Williams isn’t the only one with big goals for Eleone Dance Theater. Mrs. Cauthorn-Evans wants to see ‘Carols in Colors’ done in multiple cities during the holidays, and on a grand stage in Philadelphia, like that of the Merriam Theater. She believes that and more is possible with Mr. Lemere-Williams and Dr. Ward at the helm.
“My brother left his legacy in good hands,” she said.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
Author’s bio: Christopher “Flood the Drummer®” Norris is an award-winning journalist, online content producer and professional drummer currently serving as the CEO of Techbook Online, a Philadelphia-based news and event company, and the host of the Drumming for Justice podcast. Subscribe here.
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Photo Credit: C. Norris – ©2018