61st annual Dance Magazine Awards

On Decemeber 3 the 61st annual Dance Magazine Awards were held at The Ailey Citigroup Theater. The evening honored five remarkable indivuals Ronald K. Brown (his award presented by Arcell Cabuag), Lourdes Lopez (presented by the Ford Foundation’s Darren Walker), Crystal Pite (presented by Sean Curran), and Michael Trusnovec (presented by Patrick Corbin). A special Leadership Award was presented to Nigel Redden by Dance Media CEO Frederic Seegal.

An emotional Misty Copeland opened the program, "I’ve just come from Arthur Mitchell’s memorial service. Celebrating a life of such incredible impact, puts so much into perspective...and a stronger understanding of my responsibility as a human, as an American, as a black woman, and as a black ballerina! We all in this room and in the dance world hold a responsibility to use what we love for good. To move the art form forward, to move and motivate one another, to transcend race, religion, and politics! Dance unifies us."

The evening included performances by Evidence, Miami City Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Gallim Dance.

Proceeds from last year's ceremony created a new grant, The Harkness Promise Award, for emerging young artists and the promise of their artistic work. The Harkness Foundation For Dance's vice president, Joan Finkelstein, announced the inaugural awardees; Raja Feather Kelly and Ephrat Asherie. The pair accepted the award together saying in unison, “we promise... not to let you down!". Proceeds from this year's Dance Magazine Awards will be applied to next year's Harkness Promise Awards.

To donate to next year's Harkness Promise Award, visit https://www.fracturedatlas.org...

Since 1954 the Dance Magazine Awards have recognized outstanding men and women whose contributions have left a lasting impact on dance.