Undesirable Elements is a youth-led theater program conducted in collaboration with Ping Chong & Company. The program provides a space for New York City public high school students to use music, poetry, dance and personal storytelling to examine issues such as equality, social change, and immigration. In doing so, they develop their confidence and creative ability, receive vital personal support and encouragement, and gain leadership skills that they then use to educate other young people around the City. The program is currently conducted in three New York City high schools.

The Undesirable Elements program culminates in a final piece drawn from such sources as the traditions and family histories of the students. Students highlight the positive components of their culture, such as music and dance, address the experience of being a member of the youth in their culture, and use their piece as a means to promote diversity and an understanding of American and world history.

This final piece has been performed at several venues across the city, including the Apollo Theater, Sarah Lawrence College, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Lincoln Center Institute, the United Nations Special Session on Children, the Museum of Television an Radio, Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, NYU, and the Global Kids Annual Youth Conference at the New School University.

Ping Chong’s piece, “Undesirable Elements,” acts as the inspiration for Global Kids’ program. His work explores the intersection of history, culture and memory in order to move past stereotypes of “the other.” “Undesirable Elements” has been created with local communities in 30 cities across the U.S., and in, Holland, Germany, and Japan, where it won the national Yomiuri Theater Award. For more information on Undesirable Elements, visit http://www.undesirableelements.org or contact Emerald Trinket Monsod Walker at 212-873-1253 or trinketmonsod@hotmail.com.