STEPS! Dance Parade's Official E-Newsletter
  Late April 2015 Edition
Inside this Issue:
 
 
Dance Quote of the Month:
 

 
"Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are thestuff
of which it is made." 
- Ted Shawn
(October 21 1891 -
January 9 1972)
 

Share the Love of Dance!
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!
 
 
Team Dance Parade:
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
Alicia Durity
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
·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
 
Dance Parade graciously acknowledges our Sponsors:

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
Interested to
 
 
 
 
 
 

Get ready to make history!
Photo of Princess Lockerooo
by Robert Ullmann

Photo by Asterio Tecson
 
Photo by Mark Brown

 
 
 
 
Choreographies are being created. Costumes are being conceived. The weather is warming up...
 
With less than a month to go, thousands are getting ready for the world's largest display of the diversity of dance.
 
The theme for the 9th Annual Dance Parade and Festival is Live Free and Dance! 
 
Watch the parade from the  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. 
 
So far 5,732 dancers are gearing up to present 67 unique styles of dance!

Dance Parade is for EVERYONE! Watch the 2015 Preview Video on YouTube:
 
 
Last Parade Group Coordinator's Meeting!
Location:   Ripley Grier Studios
Address:    520 Eighth Avenue (bet 36/37 Streets) Room 17B
Date/Time: Saturday April 25th, 11:30am - 12:30pm
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? You can watch our meeting live from any country around the world by joining our Google Hangout Video Conference starting at 11:35am! Invitations to the Hangout can be sent to join the Hangout if you have a Google Account so we can see you on camera when the Hangout starts. (up to 10 people for the call). Questions? Email: donnie@danceparade.org
 
 
DanceFest, after the Parade
The parade culminates in Tompkins Square Park where DanceFest kicks off unforgettable performances on five stages--with dance lessons, roaming performers, experience dance booths and an epic dance party--all FREE to the public.
                                   
 

Engaging the Community
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.
 
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
 

Genre Buzz - Scottish Highland Dance
 
We're super excited to have Scottish Highland Dance for the first time at Dance Parade! 
 
Highland dance or Highland dancing is a style of competitive solo dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games, where it is often performed to the accompaniment of Highland bagpipe music. It is now seen at nearly every modern-day Highland games event.
Highland dancers wear specialized shoes called ghillies.
Highland dance has been subject to many influences from outside the Highlands. For example, it has been heavily influenced by the aesthetics of the patrons of Scotland since the nineteenth century and ballet.
Highland dance should not be confused with Scottish country dance. Highland dance is its own sport, with millions of dancers competing across the planet.
 
Article Source: Wikipedia
 

Volunteer Spotlight - Meet Josef Pinlac!
 
 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!
Thank you Josef for taking time for this interview!
 
How did you first find out about Dance Parade?
In 2010, I began a photo project documenting all the parades in New York City. I saw a listing in the Village Voice about the NYC Dance Parade, and I added it to my project list. It far surpassed my expectations and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it including Dance Fest at Tompkins Sq. Park after the parade. I am still working on this project to this day. New York City has hundreds of parades each year and the Dance Parade is one of the MUST-sees.
 
What is your current role in Dance Parade, Inc?
My current role is photographer for whatever events I can fit in my schedule, including the Taste of Dance Parade and seasonal activities of the various dance groups that participate in the Dance Parade.
 
What is your favorite style of dance to watch? to participate in?
There are so many, but I really like watching modern and contemporary dance that mixes styles and tells a story through the dance performance. I tend to get shy, but in my heart I’m a pop dancer. I like to bust out moves from the 1980s. Running man, Michael Jackson choreography, you know…
 
 
2015 Grand Marshals, Living Legends
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.  
 
 
     Carmen de Lavallade
 
            Robert Battle
 

Mary Verdi-Fletcher
 

DJ Rekha
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.
 

If you're not dancing in the parade, come watch in the GRANDSTAND
 
Space is limited.
 
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!
 

Join the Street Team this Sunday April 26th -- Can't make it? Click & Get poster!
 
 
Spread the joy of Dance Parade with a Street Team.
Chauncey Danridge is organizing a Street Team this Sunday
The next Dance Parade STREET TEAM Meetup is this Sunday, April 26th 12:00 pm on the Southwest corner of Union Square near the Gandhi statue! - See more at: http://danceparade.org/streetteam/#sthash.zU0Jj0Wc.dpuf
April 26th at 12noon! Meet his team at the Southwest cornder of Union Square at the Gandi Statue. [RSVP on Facebook]
 
Can't make it? 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! 
 

The party doesn't stop with DanceFest...
nublu
SATURDAY MAY 16 
  8pm - midnight

OFFICIAL DANCE PARADE
AFTER PARTY

music stylings by dj Jeannie Hopper
(liquid sound lounge/ wbai)  
acoustic flavorings by Liah Alonso

@nublu, 62 ave C (btw 4/5 st) NYC
click for $8 advanced ticket or $15 @door

 
 

Support The Parade, Festival & Community Engagement Programs!
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!
Dance Parade New York is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization            www.DanceParade.Org