Awards

2010 Seventh Annual Miami Dance Festival Awards

Each year the Miami Dance Festival presents two awards to honor the unsung heroes who have made significant contributions toward the advancement of dance in the South Florida area.

 This year, Laura Bruney, Executive Director of the Arts and Business Council has been selected for her outstanding service to dance companies and dance artists. She works tirelessly to provide information, workshops, volunteers, development opportunities and creative ideas to Miami’s arts community. And though her efforts have touched all of the arts disciplines, dance, as the art form that is most in need, has benefitted greatly from Laura’s efforts to bring improved business skills, networking opportunities, advice, and training for Board members and volunteers to our dance community. Laura is always there to provide advice on marketing dilemmas, organizational issues, and how to handle difficult situations with creativity. She constantly responds to the ever-changing challenges of the community and economy in which we work.   

The second 2010 Miami Dance Festival award goes to Dr. Diane Brownholtz, who has taught dance students at Miami Dade College for over thirty years. She has provided not only great dance training to young artists, but also encouragement, advice, and support. She has also worked closely with the professional dance community to bring in local choreographers and teachers to create choreography for students and to provide diverse learning opportunities. Under her tutelage many dance students have been developed to a level that allows them to be accepted into prestigious dance programs such as New World School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase, Florida State University and many more. Many of these students have gone on to perform with professional companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company and the Martha Graham Company. In addition, Diane acts as an advisor the Performance Journalism Project, helping to set the philosophical direction and provide historic and technical background for a group of journalists writing about dance in the South Florida area. Diane truly is one of the unsung heroes of our art form!

 

Previous Festival awards have been presented to: dance teacher and coach Mariana Alvarez; the team of people who made the development of the Byron  Carlyle Theater possible: Nancy Liebman, Brad Judd, Jose Smith, Eric Fliss, & Bernard Zyscovich; dance teacher and community activist Florene Nichols; dance teacher and creator of the Miami International Ballet Festival Pedro Pablo Pena; Dance Supervisor for Miami Dade County Public Schools Virginia Shuker; Artistic Director of the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet Ruth Weisen, Bill Doolin of the Florida Dance Association, and the Performance Journalism Project.

 

The Miami Dance Festival awards ceremony will take place on the Festival’s closing night, Saturday, May 29 at 8:30 PM at the Byron Carlyle Theater immediately prior to the performance by Brazz Dance Theater and Moving Current. Tickets are $20 in advance/$23 the day of the show/$15 for students and seniors. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.momentumdance.com or by calling 305-858-7002.

 

The Miami Dance Festival has been made possible with support from: the National Endowment for the Arts, the Miami Dade Department of Cultural Affairs and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council and the City of Miami Beach Mayor and Board of Commissioners, the City of Coral Gables, Citizens Interested in Arts, WLRN Public Radio, FundArte, Funding Arts Network, and George’s Restaurant.