Cleveland’s long-running performing arts camp for children is underway and currently in rehearsals, preparing for performances set to begin July 8.
“Showagon” is a Cleveland Parks and Recreation Program that’s been around for decades. Kids ages 8-17 audition, sing and dance for free public events around town at locations, including parks, rec centers and City Hall.
“The goal is for a lot of these kids who don't play basketball, baseball, any kind of sports, but love to sing and dance to go to the next level,” said Angela Winborn, Showagon's manager.
Aijah Talton is a Showagon veteran, entering her fourth summer with the program.
“It's fun. It definitely gets you going,” Talton said. "It keeps you motivated."
Talton said the motivation is, in part, due to the camp’s dance instructor Neemo Spencer, a dancer for the Emmy award-winning film “The Shadow Between Us,” and a graduate of the Juilliard School for the performing arts in New York.
“I’m like a big kid at heart, so I think I understand them and I can kind of relate a lot of important messages that adults want them to understand,” Spencer said.
He’s also relatable because he’s one of them, a Cleveland kid, now grown up. He graduated from the Cleveland School for the Arts and, after Juilliard, decided to dedicate his career to teaching dance to Cleveland’s youth.
“I don't try to like to pour into like, “Oh yeah, just because we're from the urban area, that means that there's bad things because good things come out of urban areas,” Spencer said. “However, it’s just the accessibility that we want to provide more of.”
Part of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s 2025 summer safety goals is to provide more programs to keep kids engaged in constructive pursuits, something Showagon's been doing for decades.
“These kids come from all over. Some of them are from the inner city, which means they're in an environment that is not that safe,” Winborn said. “This gives them an opportunity to be safe and do something positive all summer long.”
The aspect of safety isn’t lost on the students, especially gospel singing teen Antony Kizer.
“It keeps us all busy during the summer, instead of jumping gates and doing all the other kid stuff,” Kizer said.
Some students, like Savannah Podmore, said they like the camaraderie amongst camp goers and the ability to meet friends from all over town they wouldn’t normally get to meet.
“In most programs I'm the only white person,” Podmore said. “I felt like I didn't belong, being like an outcast, but then when I joined dance, Mr. Spencer made me feel like I belonged.”
These performers stay busy in the summer and build friendships, but as Winborn said, Showagon also sets the stage for their dreams.
“We've had kids over the years who are now doing Broadway. We've have kids who go to Karamu and go to other Cleveland Playhouse.”
Karamu House, located on Cleveland's East Side, is the oldest Black producing theater in the country. It produces professional theater and arts education.
That’s proof that these Cleveland kids’ dreams can come true.
Podmore said she's looking to a future on Broadway.
"I have a feeling that I'm going to be at the top one day," she said.
The summer’s first Showagon show is July 8 at Cleveland State University.
