Boston Dance Alliance Names 2014 Award Winners

Boston, MA, March 07, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Today Boston Dance Alliance (BDA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting dance in the Boston area, announced its 2014 award winners. BDA will present the Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champion Award to the founders of Boston Dance Collective, and the inaugural Top Hat Award to Opus Affair at BDA’s annual gala on April 11.

“This is a special year, as we celebrate the birth of dance in Boston, especially as a form of expression for women, and we present this year’s Dance Champion award to three women who have helped the art thrive in our area,” said Ruth Birnberg, Executive Director of Boston Dance Alliance. “We’re also excited to be adding a second honor recognizing a strong supporter of dance in Boston, and we look forward to celebrating the contributions of both groups at our gala next month.”

The Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champion Award was created in 2004 to recognize members of the dance community who have made important and lasting contributions to the dance landscape in Boston. This year’s awardees are the founders and choreographers of Dance Collective: Judith Chaffee, Martha Armstrong Gray, and Dawn Kramer. For thirty-three years, Dance Collective operated as a professional contemporary dance company producing award-winning choreography and concerts throughout New England and in Europe, sponsoring an acclaimed Summer Outreach Program for inner-city youth and providing popular educational programs at schools and after-school sites.

This year’s new honor, the Top Hat Award, was created to recognize an individual, group, corporation or organization for supporting and promoting dance in the Boston area. The inaugural awardee, Opus Affair, is a nonprofit organization that brings together young arts professionals and their supporters and friends for regular parties and networking events, with the proceeds often benefiting local arts organizations. Founder Graham Wright will accept the award on behalf of Opus Affair.

Boston Dance Alliance’s 11th Annual Gala, sponsored by Comcast and Outside the Box, will be held in the Sanctuary Theatre in Cambridge at 7pm on April 11. This year’s gala will celebrate over 100 years of dance artists who courageously used their art to provide a voice for all, featuring rarely-seen recreations of 19th century tableau vivants alongside 21st century updates. The gala will include award presentations, a raffle, a paddle auction and youth performances by alumni from Dance Collective’s Summer Outreach Program, Boston Children's Foundation: Guardians of Isadora, and Boston Arts Academy. Appetizers, desserts and open bar will be provided. The main event will be followed by an after party featuring DJ Rob Suave. All proceeds will benefit the programs and services of Boston Dance Alliance. For information on Boston Dance Alliance or tickets to the 2014 gala or after party, visit www.bostondancealliance.org.

About Boston Dance Alliance
Boston Dance Alliance (BDA) supports the dance community that invigorates Boston through this living and dynamic art form. Toward that end, BDA provides services that raise the profile of dance, nurture artistic excellence, and enhance the effectiveness and vitality of its individual and institutional members. BDA’s comprehensive matrix of programs focus upon three major areas: networking and communication, education and outreach, and access and advocacy.