Dear Friends,
Dance Parade is once again gathering 10,000 dancers in May and we need your help to make it great! That's why we are throwing a Taste of Dance Parade Showcase this Sunday, and we ask you to join us.
Our dedicated team has been working year round to bring hundreds of dance groups together as well as organizing free dance classes around NYC. The showcase is a teaser for the juggernaut of the 9th Annual Dance Parade and Festival which features 75 unique styles, making it the world’s largest display of cultural diversity. The parade, festival and dance classes in Tompkins Square Park are all free, which is why our showcase benefit is so crucial.
Donnie D'Amato will emcee a dazzling program including Chinese ribbon dancers, Salsa, Samba, physically integrated dance, hip-hop and even fire hooping and a triple trapeze piece-- all in the intimate space of Dixon Place Theater with a group of New Yorkers who love and support dance.
Advanced tickets are just $20 but you can get $5 off until April 7th by using the discount code "livefreeanddance". If you can, be a “Mover and
Shaker” with a $100 contribution and get listed as a major sponsor in the event program and website, and enjoy food and drinks at the show.
· Not able to make it but still want to support us? There's a way to donate online as well.
I hope to see you April 12th. Until then, enjoy the newsletter below and thanks so much for helping keep dance free in the streets of New York!
Greg Miller
Director, Dance Parade New York
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STEPS! Dance Parade's Official E-Newsletter
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April 2015
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Dance Quote of the Month:
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"Every move is like a dance. Looking at the world from the rhythms in the heart, everyone is constantly dancing."
- Emily Conrad
from "Life on Land;
The Story of Continuum"
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Help spread the word about the magic that is Dance Parade by donating your Twitter account. In doing so, your account will automatically retweet the biggest headlines surrounding the upcoming 9th Annual Dance Parade & Festival in New York City on Saturday, May 16th! We want to make this year's event the biggest and best yet and with your help you can make it happen: Click here! |
Board:
Erik Bryan Slavin (Chair)
Natasha Blank
Nicola Creary
Jerry Goldman
Mahayana Landowne
David Leventhal
Greg Miller
Philip Ribolow
Steering Commitee:
Greg Miller, Executive Director
Shireen Dickson, Education
Kate Peila, Education
Adele Godfrey, Parade Production
Sarah Elizabeth, Parade Group Liaison
Rifka Richter, Parade Production
Jamila Holeman, Festival Production
DJ McDonald, Curatorial
Hal Lamster, Web
Natalya Grigoriev, Finance
Bianca Rodriguez, Finance
Victoria Behr, Legal
Brian Austin, Creative
Jason Parrish, Creative
Chauncey Dandridge, Social Media
Honorary Committee:
(Power Team & Grand Marshals)
Carmen de Lavallade
Robert Battle
Mary Verdi-Fletcher
Rekha Malhotra
Savion Glover
Jawolle Willa Jo Zollar
Hex Hector
Jacqulyn Buglisi
Baba Chuck Davis
Louie Vega
Ashley Tuttle
Elisa Monte
Bill Shannon
Trevor Hochman
Peter Zehren
Samir Bitar
Mel Alvarez
Jonathan Peters
Charles Reinhart
“Billy Elliot” (Joseph Harrington)
Kat Waldish
Amy Marshall
Jellybean Benitez
Elizabeth Zimmer
Ellenore Scott
Don Campbell "Campbellock"
Morocco (Carolina Varga Dinicu)
Luis Salgado
Luigi
Kool Herc
Danny Tenaglia
Djoniba Mouflet
Advisory Board:
Jeanne Fleming
David Katz
Teddie Kern
David Koren
Anil Kumar
Joseph McElroy
Fred Shequine
Parade Production:
Adele Godfrey (Production Lead)
Sarah Elizabeth (Group Liaison Lead)
Barbara Anglisz
Nick Cordua
Alicia Durity
Matti Bowen
Snehal Waghuld
Deborah Butler
Daniel Kahn
Suzie Sims-Fletcher
Disco Mike Park
Bobby Speakerwire
Marcia Monteiro
Peter Dolce
Chiling Weng
Donnie D'Amato
Sarah Hannah
Phil Ribolow
Festival Production:
Jamila Holeman (Chair)
DJ McDonald (Curatorial Lead)
Leslie Pieters
Ana Martinez
Donnie D'Amato
Mel Alvarez
Marjorie Liebman
Mark Schmidt
Mariana Bekerman-Taglienti
Luis Vargas
Teddy Yohay
Educational Outreach
Shireen Dickson (Chair)
Kate Peila
Leslie Pieters
Finance:
Bianca Rodriguez (Chair)
Natalya Grigoriev
Elizabeth Zaklama
Legal:
Victoria Behr
Carmen Casado
Jerry Goldman
David Leventhal
Paul Llewellyn
Renee Kinsella
Kaye Scholer LLP
Marketing:
Greg Miller
Chauncey Dandridge
Brian Austin
Jason Parrish
Taylor Swope
Izumi Jones
Hal Lamster
James Wurster
Amanda Alston
David Williams
Luis Vargas
Lawrence Capici
Joseph Laine
Public Relations:
Rebecca Myles
Camelia Flye
Shiela Jamison
Special thanks:
·New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
·NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo
·Manhattan Borough President Gail Brewer
·City Council Member Rosie Mendez
·NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl
·NYC & Co Foundation
·NYPD Lt Christopher Stissi and Sgt Patrick McGuire
·NYC Department for the Aging
·New York State Council on the Arts
·Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
·NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs Sarah Van Anden
·NYC Parks & Recreation Director Claudia Peppi, District Supervisor Robert McLean, Mark Schultz, Coordinator Venus Melo and Tompkins Sq Park Manager Terese Flores
·NYC Dept of Sanitation Superintendent Thomas Lincoln
·NYC Dept of Transportation Event Coordinator Ivory Henderson-Robb and G.I.S. / Events Coordinator Shuan Bruney
·Putnam County Government
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·New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
·NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo
·Manhattan Borough President Gail Brewer
·City Council Member Rosie Mendez
·NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl
·NYC & Co Foundation
·NYPD Lt Christopher Stissi and Sgt Patrick McGuire
·NYC Department for the Aging
·Community Board 3 Chair Gigi Li
·Community Board 3 District Manager Susan Stetzer
·Community Board 3 Arts and Culture Subcommitte Members
·New York State Council on the Arts
·Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
·NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs Sarah Van Anden
·NYC Parks & Recreation Director Claudia Peppi, District Supervisor Robert McLean, Mark Schultz, Coordinator Venus Melo and Tompkins Sq Park Manager Terese Flores
·NYC Dept of Sanitation Superintendent Thomas Lincoln
·NYC Dept of Transportation Event Coordinator Ivory Henderson-Robb and G.I.S. / Events Coordinator Shuan Bruney
·Putnam County Government
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Dance Parade graciously acknowledges our Sponsors:
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Register for Dance Parade TODAY! |
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Photo by Joseph Pinlac
Photo by Robert Dea
Photo by Matt Behr
So far 4,631 dancers are gearing up to present 54 unique styles of dance! 2015 space is limited.
Deadlines for registration fee waivers and to be consider on stage at DanceFest are April 10th!
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The theme for the 9th Annual Dance Parade and Festival is Live Free and Dance! Witness the world's largest diplay of cultural diversity at our Grandstand located at 8th Street & University place. Better yet, participate by expressing yourself along with more than 10,000 dancers, celebrating 75 styles of dance and culture!
On May 16th 2015, Dance Parade will explode down Broadway in the heart of Manhattan, sashay through Union Square and leap across Saint Marks Place!
Never seen before dance genres and choreography that highlight the human experience -- 75 styles, everything from Ballet to Breakdance, Two-step to Dub-Step and African to Zydeco--all in dazzling outfits, with live bands, djs and decorated floats.
Dance Parade is for EVERYONE! Watch the 2015 Preview Video on YouTube:
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Parade Group Coordinator's Meeting!
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Location: Jefferson Market Library - Southside Conf. Rm
Address: 425 Sixth Avenue (just below West 10th St)
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 8th, 6:30-7:30pm
Purpose: Orientation for the Parade, Festival and Community Engagement
Programs. Pick up a pack of LIVE FREE & DANCE flyers and posters. Learn how to get a fully decorated and pre-packaged Dance
Parade Float. Find out more on how to get hired into our Community
Engagement Programs. Meet other members of the Dance Parade Community
to "conspire to inspire", for collaboration and support!
Not in NYC? Connect with a Google account and click here to connect to a hangout starting at 6:15pm!
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DanceFest, after the Parade
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The parade culminates in Tompkins Square Park where DanceFest kicks off unforgettable performances on four stages--with dance lessons, roaming performers, experience dance booths and an epic dance party--all FREE to the public.
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Join one of our FREE Community Engagement Programs this Spring!
Ageless Action Classes: (open to public; ages 50 and up; must register for senior center) Tuesday - Chelsea Rec Center 430 W 25 St 9:30-10:30 AM (must register for NYC Parks Membership) Xianix Barrera (Flamenco)
Tuesday - SAGE Harlem 127 W 127 St 1:30-2:30 PM
Wednesday - Hudson Guild 119 9th Ave 2:45-3:45 PM Jeannie Mitchell (Bellydance)
**Lenox Hill on Saturdays style TBD
Youth Classes (free to youth under 18 - must register for NYC Parks Membership)
Friday - Chelsea Recreation Center 4:30-6 PM Nekia Wise (Hip-hop)
All classes end with participation in the Parade! 
If your school, community or senior center is interested in one of our popular education programs, contact Shireen@danceparade.org or click here for our Community Engagement brochure.
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Ageless Action: Jeannie Mitchell and PureOnyx Movement teaches Bellydance at Hudson Guild April 1, 2015 -- Photo by Shireen Dickson
Community Kinect Program
photos by Caryn La Greca
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Genre Buzz - Palestinian Dabkah |
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Dabke (Arabic: دبكة) is a modern Levantine Arab folk circle dance of possible Canaanite or Phoenician origin.
For the first time, Dance Parade will present Dabka on May 16th with The Columbia Palestinian Dabke Brigade. It is the national dance of Palestine,
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. It is a form of both circle
dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and joyous
occasions. The line forms from right to left. The leader of the dabke
heads the line, alternating between facing the audience and the other
dancers. In English, its name is also transliterated "dabka","dabki",
"dabkeh", "debke", "debkah", "debki", "debka".
Article Source: Wikipedia
Photo Credit: Xinhua / Nidal Eshtayeh
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Volunteer Spotlight - Meet Natalya!
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In each issue of STEPS!, we choose a volunteer to spotlight. We ask them a few questions to explain the
magic behind the Dance Parade experience.
Check out joining this amazing team and volunteering for 2015 by clicking here!
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Thank you Natalya for taking time for this interview!
What is your current role in Dance Parade, Inc?
I’m the Treasurer and provide accounting and tax preparation for the
501(c)(3) non-profit organization that produces the Dance Parade,
Festival and Community Engagement programs.
What is your favorite style of dance to watch? to participate in?
I’m really intrigued with Latin dancing such as Tango, Cha-Cha, Salsa, Mambo, Latin Jazz--love all the energy of those styles!
What is your professional background?
I’m a CPA and do bookkeeping and tax preparation for individuals and
small businesses. If anyone in the Dance Parade community needs help on
that stuff, they can reach me with: emailcustomaccounting@gmail.com
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2015 Grand Marshals, Living Legends
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Four Grand Marshals will join 10,000 dancers down Broadway as part of New York City’s 9th Annual Dance Parade and Festival!
The four Grand Marshals span the diversity of dance – they are the
renowned ballet choreographer and dancer Carmen de
Lavallade, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Choreographer and Artistic Director Robert
Battle, Dancing Wheels founder Mary Verdi-Fletcher, and pioneer of
bhangra music in North America, DJ Rekha.
While the parade celebrates more than 75 styles of dance, this
year, we honor especially the genres of contemporary ballet, Physically
Integrated Dance, and dance in the bhangra community. Dance Parade’s
Curatorial Committee chair DJ McDonald explained that the honorees were
selected due to their “perseverance, impact, contribution, and
uniqueness” that they have represented and supplied throughout their
formidable careers.
This year’s Dance Parade New York will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the monumental civil rights legislation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Carmen de Lavallade
Robert Battle
Mary Verdi-Fletcher
DJ Rekha
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Ms. Verdi-Fletcher, whose physically integrated troupe was the first
professional company of its kind in the US to bring the talents of
dancers with and without disabilities to the stage, will lead the parade
while dancing in her wheelchair.
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If you're not dancing in the parade, come watch in the GRANDSTAND
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Space is limited.
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On Saturday,
May 16 get the best seat on the
parade route as 10,000 dancers stop
and perform in front of this year's
Grandstand! Watch 150 dance
organizations be announced by our Emcee as
they dance their way
to Tompkins Square Park for DanceFest 2015. Bring
your camera--there's
no other event quite like this one!
$60 and $100 Grandstand tickets support the production of Dance Parade and DanceFest. $35 Earlybird tickets still available!
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Spread the word with this FREE Poster!
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Click
on the image above and get a free poster. Help spread the word by
printing out the 8.5x11" poster and placing
it in your neighborhood
dance studio, dance club or neighborhood shop! |
Support The Parade, Festival & Community Engagement Programs!
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We invite you to make a donation and help create memories that can last a lifetime! As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we rely on generous donors to make our programs possible.
Click here to pitch in with a 100% tax-deductible donation--Any amount will help and we appreciate your support! |
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