EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Keith T. Williams is sitting in the seventh-floor dance studio at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s East St. Louis Center rubbing salve on the bottom of his feet. They seem to soak up the ointment he massages into them, but still look like they’ve seen years of hard work.

Williams’ feet have taken him to many great places in his life. They’ve tapped on Broadway and around the U.S., pirouetted in Italy and Germany, strutted in Spain and Finland, and glided across Japan and Australia.

And they’ve landed him right back in his hometown, East St. Louis, where he first discovered his love for the arts. Williams’ work is now is instilling the love and joy of entertaining into the minds, hearts, and feet of young people in the East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts program.

“God has blessed me with a talent to be used as a channel to convey messages of life,” said Williams, who refers to himself as a versatile artist with dancing, acting, and singing abilities. He is also skilled as a director and choreographer.

“The theater and the arts can be used as a tool to heal, educate and bring people together,” said Williams, who holds a bachelor’s degree in theater education from SIUE.

SIUE Professor Emerita Katherine Dunham, a world-renowned dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist, recently authorized Williams as a certified instructor of the Dunham Technique. The SIUE East St. Louis Center first established its Performing Arts Center as the Katherine Dunham Center for Performing Arts. SIUE’s Dunham Hall is named for her.

Williams is grateful he is able to pass along the tool of dance and performance to young people. He has worked at the center since 1995.

In July, Williams persuaded two cast members from the national touring “Riverdance” show to teach a master class at the East St. Louis Center. Cadet Bastine and Jason E. Bernard taught a session on dance combinations, some of which came from “Riverdance”.

“The experience gave our students exposure to other professional African Americans in the business,” Williams said. “It let them see that they too can accomplish great things. Some of our students want to be professionals in the arts.”

Williams, as well, is a major influence on young people in the East St. Louis Center program.

“Mr. Williams has been a great teacher and mentor,” said 15-year-old Kent Powell, a student of Williams for five years. “I’ve learned not only about dance, but acting. You have to put feeling into your dance. And you have to give 100 percent.”

Williams also requires his students to study the art of dance in order to be better performers, Kent said.

“If we’re doing a type of dance, he’ll have us look up who made the dance, where it came from and the effects it’s had,” Kent said. “We can talk to Mr. Williams about anything, and he always tells us the truth.”

Kent wants to make the performing arts his career. He enjoys tap, hip-hop and praise dance.

“I can act, too. I’m learning how to sing,” Kent says. “I want to be another Denzel Washington, except I’ll be able to dance, too.”