Post by Emerald City on Apr 13, 2006 18:44:27 GMT -5
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Kim Weston: A Motown artist returns home
July 31, 1985
BY GEORGE WALDMAN
Free Press Staff Photographer
Kim Weston's talent grew up in a Detroit neighborhood called Black Bottom. She went to the top with Motown, where she gained fame on her own and in duets with Marvin Gaye.
But talent still grows in Detroit, and Weston is back home nurturing the sounds of the city's youth.
Weston had followed Motown west to California, but she has returned to Detroit "because it's home," she said.
Along the way, Weston has been a singer, writer and actress. In 1977, she added the role of teacher when she founded the Festival for the Performing Arts.
The year before, when youth gangs had been a major crime problem, Weston said, she met with Mayor Young and told him she wanted "to work with kids. He offered me a job with the Department of Public Works.
"I took 50 kids that would normally be cleaning up the expressway, but I tried to find the ones with talents."
This summer the program has about 300 participants, aged 14 to 21, Weston said a few days ago in her borrowed office at Northwestern High School. The program, funded by the city, pays the participants minimum wage for six weeks.
Weston's troupe performs around the city, but the program goes beyond performance. She talked about one girl who came to Weston for help when she felt like killing herself.
"With a little help," Weston said, "some of these young people can express themselves and go about their business."
Weston continues to perform, but the program fills a special niche. She said: "The satisfaction I get out of seeing the kids fulfill themselves is quite different than the fulfillment I get myself on the stage, like night fulfills a different function than the day."
Kim Weston: A Motown artist returns home
July 31, 1985
BY GEORGE WALDMAN
Free Press Staff Photographer
Kim Weston's talent grew up in a Detroit neighborhood called Black Bottom. She went to the top with Motown, where she gained fame on her own and in duets with Marvin Gaye.
But talent still grows in Detroit, and Weston is back home nurturing the sounds of the city's youth.
Weston had followed Motown west to California, but she has returned to Detroit "because it's home," she said.
Along the way, Weston has been a singer, writer and actress. In 1977, she added the role of teacher when she founded the Festival for the Performing Arts.
The year before, when youth gangs had been a major crime problem, Weston said, she met with Mayor Young and told him she wanted "to work with kids. He offered me a job with the Department of Public Works.
"I took 50 kids that would normally be cleaning up the expressway, but I tried to find the ones with talents."
This summer the program has about 300 participants, aged 14 to 21, Weston said a few days ago in her borrowed office at Northwestern High School. The program, funded by the city, pays the participants minimum wage for six weeks.
Weston's troupe performs around the city, but the program goes beyond performance. She talked about one girl who came to Weston for help when she felt like killing herself.
"With a little help," Weston said, "some of these young people can express themselves and go about their business."
Weston continues to perform, but the program fills a special niche. She said: "The satisfaction I get out of seeing the kids fulfill themselves is quite different than the fulfillment I get myself on the stage, like night fulfills a different function than the day."