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Bright Lights Shining Stars Gala on 9/5
AWARD TO BE PRESENTED BY LIZA MINNELLI
On
Wednesday, September 5 at 7:30pm at NYU’s
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia
Place), dance icon Mikhail Baryshnikov will be
honored at the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation’s “Bright
Lights Shining Stars” Gala where he will receive
their prestigious Ambassador for the Arts Award which
will be presented to him by longtime friend and
colleague Liza Minnelli.
Last year’s Ambassador for the Arts Award recipient,
celebrated American singer, songwriter, musician and
four-time Grammy-winner Roberta Flack, will also be
present on 9/5.
Cassandra Seidenfeld and Robin Cofer will
c-chair the event.
This exciting star-studded evening of song
and dance will serve as a fundraiser for the NYC
Dance Alliance Foundation
and will include performances from the Broadway and dance
communities. The
Ambassador for the Arts Award
will
also feature a special dance tribute to Baryshnikov
and will include a donation to the Baryshnikov Arts Center
as well as scholarship recognition for deserving teenage
student dancers from across the United States.
The
evening begins at 6pm with a pre-show cocktail reception,
with the awards gala taking place at 7:30pm and a VIP after
party to follow at 9pm.
A
limited number of tickets
are
available to public and can be purchased by phone
at 855-692-5678 or online at
http://bit.ly/BrightLightsShiningStars.
VIP tickets are priced at $350
(which includes pre and post show receptions and Orchestra
seating for the gala), additional tickets are priced at
$175 (which includes a ticket to the pre-show reception
and a seat to the gala) and $50 (for a balcony seat
to the gala).
The
NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc.
is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity, committed to
broadening performing arts awareness while advocating
education and high standards of excellence in dance. NYCDAF
is dedicated to investing in the next generation of
professional performers by offering scholarships for
secondary and college education. For more information, visit
www.NYCDance.com.
MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV,
a native of Riga, Latvia, was born in 1948 and began
studying ballet at the age of nine. As a teenager he moved
to Leningrad where he entered the Vaganova Choreographic
School, graduating from student to principal dancer of the
Kirov Ballet in 1969. In 1974, he left the Soviet Union to
dance with major ballet companies around the world including
the New York City Ballet where he worked with George
Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. In 1980 he began a 10-year
tenure as Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre,
nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers.
From 1990 to 2002, Mr. Baryshnikov was director and dancer
with the White Oak Dance Project, which he co-founded with
choreographer Mark Morris. White Oak was born of
Baryshnikov’s desire “to be a driving force in the
production of art,” and, indeed, it expanded the repertoire
and visibility of American modern dance. In 2005, he opened
the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC), a creative home for local
and international artists to develop and present work.
Located in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, BAC
houses four studios, a studio theater, and the new 238-seat
Jerome Robbins Theater. Through its residency program, BAC
gives space and time to young and established artists to
dream and create in the Center’s studios without any
commercial pressure. BAC also presents contemporary,
innovative work by artists from the worlds of dance,
theater, music, and film at low or no cost to the public.
Under his leadership as Artistic Director, BAC programs
serve approximately 500 artists, and more than 20,000
audience members each year. Among Mr. Baryshnikov’s many
awards are the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of
Honor, the Commonwealth Award, the Chubb Fellowship, the
Jerome Robbins Award, and the 2012 Vilcek Award. In 2010 he
was given the rank of Officer of the French Legion of Honor.
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