Inspiring Dreams 2021: Don't Give Up
On October 6, Lundstrum welcomed friends, old and new, to our 2021 Inspiring Dreams Breakfast. This annual breakfast is a chance to share Lundstrum’s story of impact and raise funds for our scholarship program. The event features a student performance, comments from artistic leaders and board members, as well as a testimony from one of our alums. This year’s speaker was DiShae Sanders, a Lundstrum hip hop instructor as well as former student.
“'Cause I have wings
Yes, I can fly
Around the moon and far beyond the sky”
- ‘ALone in the Universe’ from seussical.
The event’s Emcee was Mikisha Nation, Lundstrum Board member, parent, and Executive Director of Teach for America, Twin Cities. In her remarks, she explained the value she sees in performing arts education for students, especially in the last year when students have been so isolated due to the covid pandemic.
Mikisha was followed by Lundstrum rising stars Janay Littlejohn and Calvin Reed performing a duet “Alone in the Universe,” which they performed last summer as Jojo and Horton in Seussical, Jr.
Janay and Calvin perform “Alone in the Universe.”
A highlight for the breakfast is always hearing from a former student, and DiShae Sanders shared her moving Lundstrum story with our guests. DiShae began her Lundstrum journey with ballet and tap dance when she was seven. She loved the self-expression in her acting and dance classes. “I loved being able to find out who I really am,” she recalled. One of her favorite memories was performing in 42nd Street with all of the friends she had made. She smiled saying, “Every time I did a show with Lundstrum it was filled with so many memories.”
DiShae (center) performs at Lundstrum’s 2006 Annual Gala.
“Every time I did a show with Lundstrum it was filled with so many memories.”
Lundstrum helped DiShae through some tough times. After “losing her father to the streets of the Northside,” DiShae and her family needed to take some time off from lessons, but when she returned, she remembers her ballet and tap shoes waiting in a special cubby just for her. She started coming to Lundstrum every day after school, even when she didn’t have class. Lundstrum provided a second home and the stability and support for her to explore her dreams.
“If this is something you really want, there are people here to help you get it.”
Now, DiShae instructs students of her own, and she is passionate about supporting them in their dreams. “Don’t ever give up. Dancing is more than what people present it as. If someone tells you dancing isn’t a real job or dancing isn’t a real career, they’re bluffing you,” she advises aspiring performers, “If this is your passion, if this something you can see yourself doing, don’t give up on it. If this is something you really want, there are people here to help you get it.”
If you’d like to help inspire the dreams of students like DiShae, please consider helping through a gift to our scholarship fund.
DiShae gives her testimony at our Inspiring Dreams Breakfast.