Youth Performance Company receives $10,000 NEA grant for new production

For some people, the construction of the Central Corridor light rail line brings back some old memories, and they're not good ones.

And for Youth Performance Company, the event has inspired a new production that the National Endowment for the Arts decided is worth funding.

YPC is the recipient of a $10,000 grant to develop a new production called "Echoes of Rondo" which makes connections between the current transit project and the creation of Interstate 94, which obliterated the predominantly African American Rondo neighborhood in the 1960s.

The musical will be directed by Jacalyn Knight, composed and choreographed by Kahlil Queen, and performed by local area teen artists. The musical will focus particularly on how these transit projects affected - and continue to affect - young people.

The production is slated to be part of the 2013/2014 season.

You can see the full list of NEA grantees here.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.