Felecia Gaston founded Performing Stars 35 years ago, driven to fulfill a single goal: Give low-income little girls in Marin City free ballet lessons.
However, the nonprofit’s origin story has its roots in 1960s rural Georgia. Gaston, just five years old, sat in the back seat of her mother’s car on the way to visit her grandmother. Gazing out the vehicle’s window, she saw white girls in ballet leotards. She wanted to join them.
“Because of segregation, they were not allowing Black kids to take ballet—period,” Gaston explained. “My mother said, ‘Don’t even ask about it.’ Imagine how you’re feeling as a little girl seeing this. I call it being a spectator on the outside looking in. That stayed with me all these years.”
Eventually, Gaston’s family moved to Los Angeles, a part of the country much different than the Deep South. They learned of a Black woman teaching ballet in Leimert Park, a nearby neighborhood. At 13, Gaston finally enrolled in the dance lessons she’d longed for since preschool.
Gaston says she still remembers the hurt from that early rejection and the subsequent joy of realizing a dancing dream she had believed was out of her reach. Those strong feelings changed the course of the aspiring meteorologist’s career, inspiring her to dedicate her life to helping low-income, multi-cultural children experience the arts and more.
“In 1990, some trusted friends helped me start Performing Stars in Marin City,” Gaston said. “I didn’t know anything about nonprofits at all, but they showed me how to run it. All I knew was that these little girls had to go to ballet.”
The inaugural year, eight girls donned leotards and slippers to participate in Marin Ballet classes with scholarships procured by Gaston. Partnerships with other organizations, such as the Marin Theater Company and the Marin Shakespeare Company, soon followed, allowing Performing Stars to offer an ever-widening menu of after-school and summer programs for children 3 to 12—all free of charge.
Over the last 35 years, more than 6,000 kids from across the county have participated in dance, music, theater, gardening, karate, etiquette classes, sailing camp, field trips to Broadway shows and surfing lessons—just to name a few.
World-famous artists, like musicians Carlos Santana and Dave Koz, support Performing Stars, as do a cross-section of Marin foundations and residents who believe in the nonprofit’s mission—enriching and transforming the lives of children in underserved communities.
And what an outstanding success it has been.
John Lam, the son of Vietnamese immigrants, retired last year from a 20-year career with the Boston Ballet, where he was named principal dancer—the highest rank a dancer can achieve. Performing Stars gave the acclaimed dancer and choreographer his start at age four.
“The Marin Ballet partnership had just expanded,” Gaston said. “So, I went to the Canal Child Care Center in San Rafael and said, ‘I’ve got 10 scholarships—who wants to take ballet?’ Nine girls raised their hands. And one boy. That was John Lam.”
Natalie, a single mother with two adopted boys, sings the praises of Performing Stars. Both of her kids, 10 and 11, have developed life skills while participating in the nonprofit’s programs, she said, but her youngest, who suffered a severe trauma at age three in the ocean, has especially benefited. Courtesy of Performing Stars, he attended sailing camp, passing his open water swim test with flying colors.
“Every time the boys go to camp for a week, I see a change in them,” Natalie said. “Maturity, enhanced self-confidence, bonding with others they just met. They have more motivation to get out and learn new things, and they gain a bit more responsibility as well.”
Gaston has also had a huge influence on Selena Marmolejo, who joined Performing Stars at age five. Marmolejo considered the organization a refuge from her turbulent and violent childhood. When she took her first ballet lesson, she imagined becoming a ballerina. Who loves etiquette classes? Marmolejo did, believing they were tea parties. She has a vivid memory of Gaston letting her pick out a fancy dress and volunteers styling her hair and makeup before taking her to a symphony performance. It made her feel like “a whole princess.”
“Every time I saw Ms. Felicia [Gaston], it was like a moment of brightness in a dark period of my life,” Marmolejo said. “She always made sure that we were having fun and money wasn’t a limitation.”
Like Gaston does with many of her alumni, she has stayed in touch with Marmolejo. She encouraged the young woman to apply for a scholarship from the Sausalito Women’s Club. Marmolejo used the award to pay for expenses at Boston College.
Giving back to the community is another lesson Marmolejo learned from Gaston and Performing Stars. A recent college grad, she now lives in Dallas and works at a nonprofit where she helps low-income students of color transition to higher education. Full circle.
For Neisha Roary, who grew up in Marin City surrounded by a large and loving family, Performing Stars was a place to have fun, learn and grow. She took part in hip-hop and baton twirling lessons, performed in parades, and took videography and photography classes.
“I’ve taken a lot of that stuff with me in my adulthood, and it has inspired me,” Roary said. “My college degree is in healthcare. I want to be of service, make people’s lives a bit brighter, because that’s what Performing Stars did for me.”
Each Performing Stars alumnus has a unique perspective on how the organization impacted their life, yet they all have one thing in common. Gaston and the organization gave them experiences they probably wouldn’t have received otherwise. Still, each grabbed hold of that proverbial ball and ran, opening doors for themselves and creating their own opportunities and successes.
On Sept. 27, Gaston will shine the spotlight on Performing Stars’ alumni during a reunion celebration that will spread across an entire Marin City block. Party goers will enjoy live performances by alumni, and there will be plenty of youth activities.
“Everyday, I still feel excited about what I do,” Gaston said. “We’ve made a difference in children’s lives, and I look forward to the future of Performing Stars for the next 35 years and longer.”
Celebrate 35 years of Performing Stars’ magic from 1-6pm on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Drake Ave. Lot 100-200 in Marin City. The public is welcome. For more information, visit app.performingstars.org/alumnipartyinthepark.
