Performing
Stars
Inspiring Real Change for Marin Children
By Bruce Burtch
J
ohn Lam didn’t mind being
the only boy in his 9-person
beginning ballet class. He
just wanted to dance, and, after
all, he was only three-years-old.
And did he ever dance, into the
Marin Ballet Company, then with
the National Ballet of Canada,
and now as a principal dancer at
the Boston Ballet. artistic and educational organi-
zations all across Marin. Felecia
recalls, “We felt it was important
to take kids out of Marin City, out
of the Canal, and put them into a
different environment. This was
something entirely new, going
into a whole new culture: mostly
affluent, in a different part of
Marin.”
As a Vietnamese boy growing up
in San Rafael’s Canal Area, John’s
journey could have been quite
different without the support
of Performing Stars, a nonprofit
founded in 1990 by Felecia Gas-
ton in a Marin City public housing
project. The first partner was Marin Ballet.
Felecia met with Phyllis Thelen,
who was on the Ballet’s board,
and Phyllis said, “You get the
kids, and we will provide the
scholarships, the leotards, and
the shoes.” That initial program
started with 16 children. Today
Performing Stars serves over 100
children annually, equally boys
and girls, ages 5 to 12, in partner-
Performing Stars does not provide
its own classes; they partner with
26
Marin Arts & Culture
ships with
the Marin
Ballet, Bran-
son School,
Marin The-
ater Compa-
ny, Staple-
ton Ballet,
Mountain
Play, Marin
Shakespeare
Company,
YMCA,
Founder and
Marin Catho- Executive Director
lic and more. Felecia Gaston
Nearly every
successful
artistic program, especially those
focused on low-income, at-risk
youth, has a secret ingredient. In
the case of Performing Stars, the