Partners in Dance accepting nominations for Community Dance Advocacy Award

By Kelsey Ryan
Western Herald

Partners in Dance, the advocacy and support group for Western Michigan University’s department of dance, is currently accepting nominations for the Community Dance Advocacy Award.

Each year, a leader or volunteer who demonstrates significant accomplishment in advancing or supporting dance in the greater Kalamazoo area receives the award.

Nominees can be anyone from dance artists, to educators, to avid supporters of the dance community.  “We have a large and diverse dance community here in Kalamazoo,” said Nina Nelson, WMU professor and department chair.

The purpose is to honor and celebrate an individual’s volunteerism, philanthropy, artistic achievement, teaching, or administrative leadership.

The winner receives a plaque with his or her name and the date engraved, two complimentary tickets for a year’s worth of concerts sponsored by the WMU department of dance, one year paid membership in Partners in Dance and his or her name engraved on a plaque inside the department of dance office.
Nomination forms are available at www.wmich.edu/dance or by calling the department of dance at 269-387-5830.

Anyone may submit a nomination by completing an application form and returning it to the department of dance no later than Oct. 3.

If sending the nomination by mail, it must be postmarked no later than  Oct. 1.

In addition to the application form, include a one-page summary about the significant accomplishments of the nominee, a bio or resume of that person and three to five letters of support.

Up to three pages of additional supporting materials may be added optionally.

All materials will be kept for re-consideration for up to three years and are not returned to the nominator.
The Partners in Dance review committee meets and considers all applications before announcing a winner in November.

“They’re looking for someone who has made a significant impact on the community and reached a wide audience,” said Nelson.

The winner will be formally recognized at the Great Works Dinner on Jan. 30, 2009.

The dinner is a fund-raising event hosted by Partners in Dance as an opening to their winter gala.

The event features dances from the Great Works Dance Project.

Partners in Dance is a volunteer, community support group whose mission is to promote greater awareness of dance in the community as well as encourage greater participation in and attendance at dance events.

They generate funds for special needs of the department of dance, such as scholarships.

The Community Dance Advocacy Award, established in 2006, highlights and recognizes the extent of dance activity and leadership in the Kalamazoo area.

The first recipient was Jerre Locke James, a dance educator and advocate.  He is the founding director of Ballet Arts School of Dance.

Last year’s recipient was Cori Terry, the founding artistic director of Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers.
Wellspring is located in downtown Kalamazoo and is Southwest Michigan’s only professional modern dance company.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 30 2008. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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