The Peoria Journal Star

February 22, 2007

Reaching Out To Kids Through Song, Dance

Troupe Stops in Galesburg To Address Youth Topics

By Kevin Sampier of the Peoria Journal Star

Talking to a child about teen pregnancy, racism, drug abuse, abstinence and violence can be hard.

Dancing and singing about those same topics in front of several hundred children could be downright terrifying, but a Chicago-based performing arts troupe makes it look easy.

“There’s no greater feeling than knowing you’re helping people, and we help a lot of people with the troupe,” said 16-year-old Michael Todd Emery, who performs with MWAH!, which stands for Messages Which Are Hopeful! The troupe, made up of youths primarily between the ages of 11 and 18, brings these topics to students across the country to show them how to handle tough situations.

They made a stop Wednesday at Knoxville Jr. High School to spread their hopeful messages with original songs, acting out situations of peer pressure and addressing tough social topics.

Members say the messages of tolerance and diversity sink in with students because it’s coming from people their own age.

“After every show we always have people coming up and saying it means a lot coming from peers,” Emery said.

”One of the biggest impacts was when a girl came to another troupe member, Lauren Verstat, and said she had planned to commit suicide but changed her mind after seeing the performance,” Emery said.

The man behind the troupe stays off-stage and behind the scenes, making sure the performance runs smoothly.

“My background is social work,” said Ray Moffitt, who created the troupe about 14 years ago.   Back then it was break dancing, which evolved into music and songs and eventually into the show as it is today.

“Performing arts is a good way to reach young people,” Moffitt said.

And the screaming, cheering students in the bleachers who saw the show were proof of that.

“Acting it out makes it easier to understand,” said Kaity Hutchcroft, an eighth-grader at the school.   “It was exciting.”

Several students were pulled from the audience and became a brief part of the show.   One was eighth-grader Amelia Rogers.

“It was fun how they let us interact with them,” she said after being serenaded by two troupe members.   “They got through in good ways.”