Around 300 elementary and middle school students spent part of their Wednesday morning at Pickard Auditorium singing songs and listening to African folk tales told by a nationally renowned storyteller.

Charlotte Blake Alston, a Philadelphia-based storyteller and singer, told stories passed down from the African-American oral tradition and introduced students to an oddly-shaped, harp-like West African instrument known as the kora.

Alston’s stories carried a theme of making the right choices, being courageous, and, in the case of her story about a tortoise that talked to much, knowing when to keep your mouth shut.

“I have been a storyteller full-time for 15 years,” Alston said. “I left my teaching career to pursue being a storyteller and see what would happen. Now I travel all over the country and meet with far more children than I ever could in a classroom.”

Alston said the experience of sharing her African folktales to children across the county has “wonderful and provided me growth as well.”

Kindergarten though seventh-grade students from Selma City and Dallas County schools attended the program, sponsored by the Selma Arts Council.

“I meet (Alston) two years ago in Charlotte, N.C. and she was so wonderful I decided to bring her here,” said Sandy Greene, Arts Council President.

Greene said the Selma Arts Council received a grant from the Pennsylvania Arts Council in order to help bring Alston to the city.

“All of the students were so receptive to Alston’s stories,” Greene said. “They were so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop.”

Greene said it is important to introduce storytelling to students because it is an art form that will not survive unless passed down from one generation to the next.

“We need to tell our kids these stories, or they will all be lost,” she said.

The last Selma Arts Council performance will take place on March 10.

The Canada-based Vinok Worlddance will do a 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. performance for local school children and there will be a 7 p.m. public performance at Pickard Auditorium.

For more information about the upcoming performance, contact the Selma Arts Council at 874-2177.