The Honorable ADRIAN M. FENTY and The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Proudly Present
DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence in the Arts
Millennium Stage Production | The Kennedy Center | Concert Hall
Monday, March 23, 2009
Greetings! It is our pleasure to welcome you tonight as we celebrate those individuals and organizations that will be presented with the highest cultural award conferred by the District of Columbia, the Mayor’s Arts Awards. This evening’s nominees have made indelible contributions to our cultural community by promoting artistic excellence and elevating the stature of our Nation’s Capitol. By virtue of being here tonight, they are all winners. Each year, we honor an individual or group of individuals for their outstanding leadership and commitment to our field. Tonight we recognize Septime Webre, Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet and Joy Zinoman, Founding Artistic Director of the Studio Theatre with the Mayor’s Award for Visionary Leadership in the Arts. We thank our friends at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and our city leaders and benefactors from the private sector for contributing generously to the mission of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. We thank you for coming! There is, indeed, much to celebrate as this year marks the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities 40th Anniversary. We look forward to continued success in the years to come. Best Regards,
ANNE ASHMORE-HUDSON, PH.D. Chair
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GLORIA NAUDEN Executive Director
The Honorable Adrian M. Fenty and The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Proudly Present
Millennium Stage Production | The Kennedy Center | Concert Hall Monday, March 23, 2009
About The Commission On The Arts And Humanities Since 1968, the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DC CAH) has developed and promoted local artists, organizations, and activities. The Mission of the DCCAH is to provide grants, programs and education activities that encourage diverse artistic expressions and learning opportunities so that all District of Columbia residents and visitors can experience the rich culture of our city. DCCAH is governed by volunteers who are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. DCCAH provides financial support and conducts programming in three primary areas:
Arts Building Communities
Arts Learning and Outreach
DC Creates Public Art
This program provides grants, performances, exhibitions, and other services to individual artists, arts organizations, and neighborhood/community groups so they can express, experience, and have access to the rich cultural diversity of the District.
This program provides grants, performances, educational activities and outreach services for youth, young adults, and the general public so they can gain a deeper appreciation for the arts and enhance the overall quality of their lives.
This program provides high quality art installations and administrative support services for the public so they can benefit from an enhanced visual environment.
(Grants and Programs)
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Thank You
The Commissioners and Staff of DCCAH
Utrecht
(DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities) Potbelly’s Sandwhich Works Mayor’s Arts Awards Jury Mayor’s Arts Awards Presenters Raheem DeVaughn and 122 8 Management, LLC Cynne’ Simpson
Home Depot -Store 2583 The Washington Informer Fabian Barnes, Tiffany Hill and Harold Cromartie Dance Institute of Washington Bobby Marshall, RCM Productions
Mayor’s Arts Awards Presenters Darrell Ayers Kwame R. Brown First Lady Michelle Fenty Liz Havstad Janice Hill Marcus Johnson Candy Lee
Victor Reinoso Royal Kennedy Rodgers Cynné Simpson David Sutphen Dr. Billy Taylor Mats Widbom George Worrell
Our Volunteers Andrew Asare Deborah Ayorinde Melissa Best-Nichols Leris G. Bernard Francesca Britton Chanelle Brown Melanie Clarke Carol Coates Kwame Coley Chanel Compton Kelauni Cook Kendra Desrosiers
Zon Dumas Davani Durette Shawn Frazier Maryam Fatima Foye Dustin Gavin Andrea Gerald Darryl Hall Lynn Jollviette Johns Marcus Johns Jaylen Johnson Erin Kelly The Ladies of Sigma Alpha Iota Alice Laurissa
Kia Lawson Vivian Lawson Brittany Lester Kiah McBride Tracy Melnick Courtney Ramsay Shhyidah Salahudin Nicole Thompkins Rasheed Van Patten Todd Wesley Price Dara Wallace Jon Williams Danielle Withers
Congratulations and best wishes to all nominees, finalists, and winners! 4
People Commissioners
Anne Ashmore-Hudson, Ph.D., Chair Marvin Bowser Christopher Cowan Lou Hill Davidson Rebecca Fishman
Rhona Wolfe Friedman Rogelio A. Maxwell Tendani Mpulubusi Marsha Ralls Bernard Richardson
Deborah Royster Michael R. Sonnenreich Judith F. Terra Lavinia Wohlfarth
2009 Mayor’s Arts Awards Jury Anne Ashmore-Hudson, Ph.D., Convener Chair, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities Abel Lopez, Associate Producing Director, GALA Hispanic Theatre Joy Ford Austin, Executive Director, Humanities Council of Washington, DC Kehembe Valerie Eichelberger, Associate Professor of Jazz and Classical Voice, Howard University Peter Di Muro, Director, Dance/Metro DC Scott Kratz, Vice President for Education, National Building Museum Sondra Arkin, Artist and Curator
2009 Mayor’s Award for Arts Teaching Jury Ben Hall, Director of Music, DC Public Schools Varissa McMickens, Executive Director, DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative Laura Pasquini, Director of Family and Youth Programming, Corcoran Gallery of Art Paula Sanderlin, Director of Visual Arts, DC Public Schools Kweli Smith, Artist David Snider, Producing Artistic Director and CEO, Young Playwrights’ Theatre Marc Spiegel, Artist
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Staff Gloria Nauden, Executive Director
Moshe Adams Curtia Ashton Beth Baldwin Charles Barzon Ebony Blanks Catherine Cleary Rachel Dickerson
Deirdre Ehlen Dolores Kendrick Carell Kent Lamont Harrell Charlese Jennings Yuyu Kim Rod Little
Shyree Mezick Victoria Joy Murray Carolyn Parker Keona Pearson Masresha Tadesse Lisa Richards Toney
Mayor’s Arts Awards Production Lisa Richards Toney, Executive Producer
Victoria Joy Murray
Producer
Jonathan G. Willen Director
Charles Barzon
Production Associate
Jessica Gabrielle Chambliss Production Assistant
Hyesun Shin
Production Assistant
Glenn Pearson
Productions House Band
Gemal Woods
Park Triangle Productions
CPR Productions Dan Covey Lighting Design
Millennium Stage Staff Kennedy Center Office of Accessibility Ryan Holloway Photographer
Desiree Davis Videographer
David Gay
Off Stage Announcer
Masresha Tadesse Video Voice Over
Gabrielle Faulcon
SunRise Communications
Rod Little
Graphic Design
Yuyu Kim
Graphic Design
Richman Designs Award Design
Jarboe Printing 5
The Nomination Process Nominations are submitted on behalf of those individuals and organizations that reside in the District of Columbia. DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Commissioners and staff are ineligible to nominate or be nominated. The Mayor’s Arts Awards Jury selects finalists and winners based on the following criteria: An individual artist or an organization that has demonExcellence in an Artistic strated a substantial history of extraordinary achievement in an artistic discipline. Discipline
Outstanding A promising individual artist or group of artists that Contribution have demonstrated artistic excellence and achieved to Arts distinction in an artistic discipline Education Outstanding A promising individual artist or group of artists that have demonstrated artistic excellence and achieved Emerging Artist distinction in an artistic discipline. Excellence in Service to the Arts
An individual or a private, public, or government organization that has demonstrated a substantial history of exemplary leadership, financial support, or other services vital to the development of the arts in the District of Columbia.
Innovation in the Arts
An individual or organization that has demonstrated ingenious use of skills or resources to produce art, art programs, or services.
THE MAYOR’S AWARD FOR ARTS TEACHING This award is given to outstanding full-time teachers who are employed by a District of Columbia public or public charter school. The Award is given in three categories: Language Arts, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts. Teachers may be nominated by school principals, parents, students, arts organizations or department supervisors and should demonstrate the following qualities or achievements: innovative teaching; active collaboration with school personnel, artists and/or arts organizations; outstanding leadership in promoting activities involving the arts, especially crossdisciplinary initiatives involving arts and non-arts content areas; and ability to engage and motivate students to achieve.
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Nominees Excellence in an Artistic Discipline
Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education
Bernard Mavritte CityDance Ensemble Dance Institute of Washington Duke Ellington School of the Arts Show Choir Raycourt Johnson Speakeasy DC The Studio Theatre Theater Alliance of Washington, DC Washington Bach Consort Washington National Opera Washington Performing Arts Society Helanius J. Wilkins Joyce Wellman
Arts in Foggy Bottom Capitol Movement, Inc. Cathedral Choral Society CityDance Ensemble Community Help in Music Education (C.H.I.M.E.) The Corcoran Gallery of Art Dance Institute of Washington Dorothy Marschak Janice Rankins Joy of Motion Dance Center Judith Korey Julia H. Jones Kristian Whipple National Museum of Women in the Arts The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts Washington National Opera Washington Performing Arts Society Words, Beats & Life
Outstanding Emerging Artist Alorious Christon Bacon R. Alexander Clark Betty Entzminger Steve Frost Tanji Gilliam Leigh Russell Fulton Jason Garcia Ignacio Michael Janis Kev-O (Kevin Owens) Solas Nua David Oliver Copper Rose & Bone Shawn Short Jakari Sherman Jeremy Skidmore Gwydion Suilebhan Mark Walker
Innovation in the Arts Elexia Arbuckle Arts in Foggy Bottom Catalyst Theater Company Dakshina / Daniel Phoenix Singh Company Festivals DC. Ltd. (Duke Ellington Jazz Project) Magnificence Productions Miriam’s Kitchen Jose Piedra Smith Farm Center for the Healing Arts Washington, DC Jewish Community Center Vera Oye’ Yaa-Anna
Excellence in Service to the Arts Bonita F. Bing Lawrence Bradford Belinda Cunningham Capital Fringe Jazz Night in Southwest/Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation Kendall Productions Judith Korey Chris Murray National Black L.U.V. Festival The Pink Line Project Kim Roberts Andy Anas Shallal Washington National Opera Washington Project for the Arts Women in Film and Video
Mayor’s Award for Arts Teaching Language Arts M. Kamel Igoudjil Patrick McNabb Mark A. Williams
Performing Arts Samuel L. Bonds Aisha Bowden Gregory E. Lewis Haewon Moon, Ph.D. Thomas Pierre Edmond Saint-Jean Rebecca Stump
Visual Arts Jennifer Sonkin Judith Stroman Carole Whelan
Mayor’s Award for Visionary Leadership in the Arts Septime Webre, Artistic Director, The Washington Ballet Joy Zinoman, Founding Artistic Director, The Studio Theatre 7
Program Opening Performance the
CORE THE DRUM UNITES US
Awakening of Days performed by Beat Ya Feet Kings, City at Peace DC, Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Band, Golden Universe Dance Studio, KanKouran West African Dance Company, Mambo Sauce, O’NeillJames Irish Steppers, Silk Road Dance Company, StepAfrika!, Urban Artistry, and Washington Korean Dance Company. Composed and Arranged by Ulysses Owens, Jr. Choreographed by C. Brian Williams and Jakari Sherman.
Welcome
Darrell Ayers, Vice President of Education, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Anne Ashmore-Hudson, Ph.D., Chair, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Rhona Wolfe Freidman, Vice Chair, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Marvin Bowser, Commissioner, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities The Honorable Adrian M. Fenty, Mayor, District of Columbia Gloria Nauden, Executive Director, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Cynné Simpson, Mistress of Ceremonies, WJLA-TV ABC 7
Presentation of Award | Excellence In An Artistic Discipline
Presented By Mrs. Michelle Fenty, First Lady, District Of Columbia Dr. Billy Taylor, Artistic Director For Jazz, The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts
Presentation of Award | Outstanding Contribution To Arts Education Presented By Dolores Kendrick, Poet Laureate Of The District Of Columbia David Sutphen, Partner, The Brunswick Group, LLC
Performance
Washington Improv Theater Mark Chalfant, Artistic Director
Presentation of Award | Outstanding Emerging Artist Presented By Liz Havstad, Chief Of Staff, Hip Hop Caucus And Institute Marcus Johnson, President, Three Keys Music
Performance
Coral Cantigas Amalia Rosa (Venezuela) – Albert Grau Diana V. Sáev, Founder And Artistic Director
Presentation of Award | Excellence In Service To The Arts
Presented By Royal Kennedy Rodgers, Interim Chair, Community Advisory Board, Howard University Television Mats Widbom, Counselor For Cultural Affairs, The Embassy Of Sweden
Presentation of Award | The Mayor’s Award forVisionary Leadership in the Arts Presented by Anne Ashmore-Hudson, Ph.D., Chair, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Septime Webre, Artistic Director, The Washington Ballet
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Performance
The Washington Ballet Pas de deux, Cor Perdu Performed by Sona Kharatian and Jared Nelson, Choreographed by Nacho Duato.
Presentation of Award | Innovation In The Arts Presented By Janice Hill, Executive Director, Lincoln Theatre George Worrell, CEO, GMW Enterprises LLC
Performance
Rachel Crouch and Rebecca Crouch, Visual Artists Live Painting
Presentation of Awards | Mayor’s Award For Arts Teaching Presented By Kwame R. Brown, Councilmember At-Large, District of Columbia Candy Lee, Vice President, Marketing, Washington Post Media Victor Reinoso, Deputy Mayor For Education, District of Columbia
Performance
Levine School of Music Beethoven Sonata For Piano and Violin, Op. 12 No. 1 (Rondo Allegro). Danielle Agress, Piano and Rhea Chung, Violin.
Presentation of Awards | Mayor’s Award For Visionary Leadership In The Arts Presented By Anne Ashmore-Hudson, Ph.D., Chair, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Joy Zinoman, Founding Artistic Director, Studio Theatre
Performance
Grammy Award Nominated Vocalist, Raheem Devaughn “Woman”. From The Album, Love Behind The Melody
Closing Remarks
Cynné Simpson, Mistress of Ceremonies, WJLA-TV ABC 7
Finale Performance DC’s Own…Mambo Sauce “Miracles”
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Finalists
EXCELLENCE IN AN
CityDance Ensemble
CityDance Ensemble is a professional contemporary dance company based in Washington, DC. Promising its signature power, passion, and purpose at every turn, the company performs athletic, challenging repertory by choreographers from the United States and around the world. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Gordon Emerson, Executive Director Alexe Nowakowski, and Rehearsal Director & Choreographer-in-Residence Christopher K. Morgan, CityDance Ensemble blends strong technique and physicality with a dynamic mix of energy, emotion, and humor to deliver performances full of integrity, expression, and life. Since its inception in 1996, CityDance has grown from a group of part-time dancers to a professional company of nine full-time, salaried professional dancers who hail from the Juilliard School, New York City Ballet, and other world class schools and companies, earning a reputation as “Washington’s preeminent modern dance company” (The Washington Times). The mission of CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is to advance the appreciation for and participation in the art of dance through excellence in performance, education, film, and artistic innovation.
The Studio Theatre
The Studio Theatre’s mission is to produce the best in contemporary theatre. Its restless, innovative spirit makes it a leader both in Washington, DC, and in the nation. Artistfounded and artist-driven, The Studio Theatre demands the highest quality production values. In its four-theatre performance complex, The Studio Theatre brings audiences provocative writing and unparalleled artistry in performance, directing and design. 2ndStage uses raw, flexible staging to create edgy and irreverent productions that complement The Studio Theatre’s season, and our Special Events open the theatre’s doors to one-of-a-kind artists that would not otherwise be seen in Washington. The Studio Theatre provides opportunities for developing theatre artists as year-long apprentices and in Studio 2ndStage. The Acting Conservatory offers rigorous professional theatre training in close partnership with the working artists at The Studio Theatre. The theatre is deeply invested in the community and in neighborhood revitalization. Through the Studio District Neighborhood Initiative, The Studio Theatre opens its doors to the community, welcoming arts groups and community organizations.
Helanius
Helanius J. Wilkins, one of the most sought after choreographers and teachers based in the Washington DC area, is a driven and passionate visionary. A resident of DC for 13 years, he has choreographed over 50 dance works; he has taught thousands of youth, pre-professionals, and professional dancers through guest artist residencies, and continues to teach weekly at local dance studios. In 2001, he founded EDGEWORKS Dance Theater – DC’s premiere all male contemporary dance company of predominately Black men. His accolades include being the first and only artist to receive the Kennedy Center’s Local Dance Commissioning 10
ARTISTIC DISCIPLINE Theater Alliance of Washington, DC
Theater Alliance’s mission is to present new or rarely produced work geared towards attracting diverse and alternative audiences to our Northeast community. Theater Alliance was founded in 1993 by Paul Douglas Michnewicz, Adele Robey and Linda Norton with the distinct goal of producing work that would illuminate the experiences, philosophies and interests of DC’s diverse populations. That goal was furthered when Theater Alliance moved from its home at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop to become the theater-in-residence at the H Street Playhouse. Now, seven years later, Theater Alliance stands at the forefront of a movement, along with other local businesses and organizations, to initiate a new interest in the redevelopment of Washington’s H Street, NE corridor. In our 2003-2004 Season, Mayor Anthony Williams officially designated our 1300 block of H Street Northeast as Washington’s new “Cultural Arts District”, acknowledging Theater Alliance’s role in making H Street a destination location for patrons. Theater Alliance was 2005 Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the top 75 charities in the area as a result of our contribution to the renaissance of our community. Theater Alliance has received numerous awards including 21 Helen Hayes nominations, a Tier One UPSTART Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and recognition for the Free Theater on H Street program.
Washington Bach Consort
Founded in 1977, the Washington Bach Consort is a professional chorus and orchestra noted for its performance of 18th-Century music on period instruments. Its mission is to perform to the highest artistic standards the music of J.S. Bach and his Baroque contemporaries. As one of the nations’s critically acclaimed and widely recognized performing arts institutions, it has appeared at numerous festivals and has made three European tours. Recordings include the Bach’s complete motets, both J.S. and C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificats, the first American recording of the F Major and G minor masses, and the soonto-be-released three solo soprano cantatas featuring opera superstar Elizabeth Futral. The Consort recently completed Bach’s entire 215-cantata cycle. In association with this monumental achievement, the Library of Congress has welcomed the Washington Bach Consort performance recording and concert program archives into its permanent collection.
J. Wilkins
Project award twice (2002 & 2006). He has also led EDGEWORKS in winning 6 Metro DC Dance Awards, and achieving critical success both nationally and internationally. In 2008, Mr. Wilkins was honored with the prestigious Pola Nirenska Award for Contemporary Achievement in Dance. In honoring Mr. Wilkins with this award, noted dance historian and critic George Jackson captured Wilkins and his work by saying, “Understanding and protest are brothers in dance as he lives it. Both inform his choreography, his company, and his classes. Barriers that have lingered are diminished as he expands horizons for the black male dancer in America.” 11
Finalists
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION CityDance Ensemble
CityDance Early Arts is committed to revealing the world of the arts, and especially the joy of movement and dance, to children of all ages and backgrounds. The outreach education division of CityDance Ensemble, Inc., Early Arts has an unwavering dedication to reaching those communities in the DC metro area where arts education is the least accessible and affordable. Through its year-round program of free in-school classes and performances, CityDance Early Arts touches the lives of more than 10,000 students annually. Founded in 1998, Early Arts has become one of the largest outreach education providers in the region. Early Arts employs more than 30 teachers who teach an average of 450 students per week through curriculum based in school residencies and afterschool programs. The mission of CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is to advance the appreciation for and participation in the art of dance through excellence in performance, education, film, and artistic innovation.
Joy of Motion Dance Center
Joy of Motion Dance Center (JOMDC) is dedicated to providing unparalleled learning and performance opportunities that reinforce the principle Dance is for Everyone. Since 1976, JOMDC has been creating communities that dance and has welcomed a wide spectrum of dancers to explore their place in the dance world. Individuals can take an Intro to Dance class, see a JOMDC concert, learn dance in a public school outreach program, watch a youth company perform at a local festival, or take a workshop with a worldrenowned artist. JOMDC’s classes range from Middle Eastern to Flamenco and Hip Hop to Ballet, with over 300 adult and youth classes offered each week. The student population ranges from first-timers to professionals, from 13-month to 90year olds, and from tuition-paying students to those in Project Motion Community Outreach programs. JOMDC also delivers dance classes directly to groups of children and adults—at one of the 23 schools they serve, at workplaces, at hospitals, and at senior centers. JOMDC makes dance education accessible regardless of financial means, by way of outreach programs, scholarships, senior/student discounts, work-study programs, and affordable classes. As the largest dance education center in the area, JOMDC makes DC a destination for learning dance.
The Theatre Lab School The nationally-recognized Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts is a leading force in theatre education. Dedicated to providing both the artistic and the real-life benefits of dramatic arts education to people from all walks of life, The Theatre Lab serves an enrollment of more than 1,000 children, teens and adults each year. With a distinguished faculty of more than 40 of Washington’s most recognizable professional actors, directors, and playwrights, The Theatre Lab offers more than 50 courses for adults annually, an intensive year-long professional training program, summer acting and musical theatre institutes for children and teens, and an award-winning Life Stories Outreach program for 12
TO ARTS EDUCATION Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera (WNO) is recognized as one of the world’s premier opera companies. Under the leadership of Plácido Domingo since 1996, WNO has moved confidently forward since the company’s founding in 1956. Over five decades, WNO has achieved the stature of a world-class company and plays to standing-roomonly audiences at The Kennedy Center Opera House. In 2004, the company changed its name to Washington National Opera to reflect its increasingly significant role in the national arts scene and fulfill its 2000 Congressional designation as the “national opera.” Through the Center for Education and Training, which houses the celebrated Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, the awardwinning Education and Community Programs, and the Plácido Domingo Intern and Apprentice Program, WNO is dedicated to broadening the public’s awareness and understanding of opera. WNO reaches a wide-ranging audience through its access initiatives including Generation O, a young patrons program for adults age 18 to 35, and the annual simulcast, which has reached more than 85,000 people with a free, live broadcast of a popular opera. Additionally, the company’s productions may be heard locally, nationally, and internationally over NPR’s World of Opera and XM Radio broadcasts.
Words Beats & Life, Inc.
Founded in 2002, Words, Beats & Life (WBL) transforms the lives of youths and their communities through the power of hip-hop. We nourish and support youths by providing them extracurricular activities through which they hone their artistic and academic talents, and by fostering a national community of hip-hop advocates dedicated to their success as adults. At the core of the work is the belief that hip-hop can serve as the filter between hope and despair for D.C. youths. By valuing hip-hop culture, we validate the students themselves. WBL accomplishes its goals through two main program areas‹The Urban Arts Academy, a pre-vocational arts program for youth ages 5-23 in the District of Columbia serving up to 300 students throughout the year at its five D.C. sites, and The Cipher, a growing resource for a national/international network of hip-hop based organizations. The Cipher will expand to four geographies this year‹St. Paul, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, D.C.‹for its national gathering, Remixing the Art of Social Change: A Hip-Hop Approach teach-ins. Past teach-ins drew over 150 national organizations previously doing comparable work in isolation from one another.
of the Dramatic Arts
disenfranchised populations of youth and adults. The Theatre Lab awards more than $45,000 annually in scholarships to children and adults in need, and offers free drama training programs to incarcerated and severely at-risk youth, seniors, people living with HIV/ AIDS, and homeless women. The Theatre Lab has been designated one of the 50 “top arts and humanities based programs in the country serving youth outside of school hours” by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and recognized by The Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the “best small charities in Washington.” 13
Finalists
OUTSTANDING
Jason Garcia Ignacio
A CityDance company member since November 2007, Jason Garcia Ignacio originally hails from the Philippines where he began his dance training at the age of 12. He trained at Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theater, Steps Dance Studio, and was a member of Earth Savers Dreams Ensemble for five years. In 2001, Jason continued his dance training in New York City with a scholarship at Ballet Hispanico, where he also served on the faculty as a teacher. He was a fellowship student at The Ailey School and toured nationally with the Martha Graham Ensemble. He has performed with the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Diversity of Dance, Cortez and Co., Connecticut Ballet, Zig-Zag Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, Verb Ballets, and was an apprentice for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. He has also performed in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats as Mistoffolees at numerous regional theaters in the US and was the principal dancer of the off-broadway musical Traumnovela. In 2008, Jason was named as one Washington, DC’s top 20 “Showstoppers” by Washingtonian Magazine and was recently awarded The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Local Dance Commissioning Project Award for his piece The Mountain.
Michael Janis
Michael Janis is Co-Director of the Washington Glass School. The Washington Glass School is a unique educational program in the Nation’s Capital, operating as the sculptural glass education resource for the mid-Atlantic region. The artists working at the glass school are moving glass beyond craft and towards full integration and acceptance as fine art. Inspired by ways we transform ourselves, Michael creates glass pieces that have both visual and spatial depth. By layering and fusing sheets of glass with overlapping imagery Michael creates an interactive commentary using simple forms with intricate glass powder drawings. Based on his work at the Washington Glass School, Michael has taught workshops at North Carolina’s Penland School of Craft and Istanbul’s Glass Furnace in Turkey. His work will be featured in the Corning Glass Museum’s ‘New Glass Review’ and his work is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is represented by Washington, DC’s Maurine Littleton Gallery.
Jakari Jakari Sherman is an intense performer, percussionist and choreographer of stepping, whose experience in the art form extends over 12 years. Sherman has served as the artistic director of Step Afrika for the past four years and brought new life to the basic equation of what stepping has become across the Washington DC area and internationally. He has coached and choreographed for numerous successful competitive and community organizations, and directed the NBA’s first step team. Blessed with a passion and inspiration for stepping, Jakari has shared his craft with students and communities across the globe through 14
EMERGING ARTIST Jeremy Skidmore
Jeremy Skidmore is currently the producer for the Source Festival, Washington DC’s original city-wide festival for the arts. For six years he served as the Artistic Director of Theater Alliance where he produced 22 productions in five years that garnered 22 Helen Hayes nominations. Elsewhere in the DC area, he has directed for Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, Everyman Theatre, Catalyst Theater Company, African Continuum Theatre, Forum Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Keegan Theater, University of Maryland, Catholic University, St. Mary’s College and The National Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Outside of Washington, Jeremy has directed or produced in North Carolina, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, London, Galway, Oslo, Tokyo, Macau, Kilimanjaro and Tai Pei. He was also the first American to assistant direct at London’s Globe Theatre. He has worked as a community and political volunteer for Cross Cultural Solutions, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, DC Public Schools, Cultural Development Corporation, VSA Arts International and the Arlington County Cultural Commission. Jeremy is a Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts.
Gwydion Suilebhan
Gwydion Suilebhan is the author of Abstract Nude, Let X, The Faithkiller (a 2007 O’Neill semi-finalist), The Butcher, Develop, The Great Dismal, The Treehouse, The Consellation, and the prologue to Cardenio Found. His plays have been produced, workshopped, and read at the Source Theatre, National Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, Theater of the First Amendment, Capital Fringe Festival, Accokeek Creek Theater, and the Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage Festival. Gwydion has received two Individual Artist fellowships and a Larry Neal Award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and has been accepted into the Cultural Development Corporation’s Mead Theatre Lab program three times. His work has been commissioned by the Source Theatre Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Intentional Theatre Group, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, and Rorschach Theatre. While stylistically diverse, Gwydion’s work consistently engages with the issues and ideas of paramount importance in the cultural and social fabric of America, from the relationship between science and religion to the tragic questions raised by the eroding rural landscape to the intersection between politics and personal morality. His focus is on the creation of theater that serves all people from all walks of life throughout the country.
Sherman stepping workshops, master classes, and performances in Africa, Asia, Canada, and the Caribbean. As a choreographer he seeks to create a body of work that is experimental and challenging for both the dancer and the audience. His latest choreographic creation, Trane, highlights the merger of stepping with live jazz music: a first time collaboration for both art forms.
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Finalists
EXCELLENCE IN
Capital Fringe
The mission of Capital Fringe, is to connect exploratory artists with adventurous audiences by creating outlets and spaces for creative, cutting-edge, and contemporary performance in the District of Columbia. Capital Fringe is made up of two main programs the Fringe Festival and the Fringe Training Factory. Fringe consists of a small and dedicated staff, a committed 11-member board, 30 venue owner/ operators, more than 200 artist groups, hundreds of volunteers, and more than 20,000 audience members. The Fringe Festival is often the first opportunity for emerging and established artists based in the District to present their work to a wide audience. The Fringe Training Factory is the first place teenagers in the District learn how to be a Producer. Fringe encourages the economic growth and social well-being of the city and is a major contributor to the cultural life and character of the District of Columbia
Jazz Night in Southwest / Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation Jazz Night in Southwest is a cultural development project of Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation, a local CDC in Southwest, D.C. organized at Westminster Church to promote the economic and cultural life of the community. For over 10 years, Jazz Night has presented the finest of D.C. jazz every Friday evening in a lively atmosphere welcoming to all. Jazz is a great unifying force, an inspiring art form giving voice to broad cross-sections of American culture. Its great potential for building genuinely inclusive community continues in D.C. through the creativity of our musicians and the supportive participation of the expanding jazz community which carries the heritage forward. Drawing upon this potential Jazz Night works to preserve, promote and perpetuate classical, straight-ahead jazz with memorable performances, educational and outreach programs designed to explore the music, its history and predominant cultural forces behind its creation. The values long advanced by jazz culture are rich, inclusive, inspiring and challenging. We explore them through presentations, discussions, oral histories and creative interpretations offered by a broad range of participants. Jazz Night is an expression of the jazz community at work, savoring the rich legacy, preparing to extend it to future generations.
Judith Judith A. Korey, professor of music at the University of the District of Columbia, currently serves as music program director in the Department of Mass Media, Visual, and Performing Arts. She teaches in the areas of music theory and jazz studies. She is curator of the University’s jazz research center, the Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives and is executive producer of JAZZAlive – the University’s jazz events calendar that culminates each year with the Calvin Jones BIG BAND Jazz Festival. In 2008 she was awarded the Dr. Cleveland L. Dennard Service Award, which is presented to an individual who has demonstrated a longterm commitment of outstanding service to the University. 16
SERVICE TO THE ARTS Kim Roberts
Kim Roberts is the editor of Beltway Poetry Quarterly, an online literary journal and resource bank that has served the greater DC literary community since January 2000. The author of two books of poems, most recently The Kimnama (published by Vrzhu Press in 2007), she is also a literary historian whose research focuses on the history of Washingtonarea writers, such as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston. Kim Roberts is an active member of numerous arts groups in the area, including Split This Rock Poetry Festival, DC Poets Against the War, DC Advocates for the Arts, the Big Read DC, the Arts Club of Washington, the DC Film Alliance, and the Washington Friends of Walt Whitman. Her poems have been published widely in journals and anthologies, and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Mandarin.
Andy Anas Shallal Anas “Andy” Shallal is an Iraqi American activist, artist and social entrepreneur. He is the founder and proprietor of Busboys and Poets, an activism center and café in Washington DC, which features prominent speakers and authors and provides a venue for social and political activism. Mr. Shallal is a member of the board of trustees for The Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank. He also sits on several arts and philanthropic boards, including The Washington Peace Center, The Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at GMU, DC Vote, Think Local First, Social Venture Network, The National Arab American Museum and Split This Rock Poetry Festival. Mr. Shallal has been a featured speaker at several conferences and panels that deal with Iraqi as well as Israeli-Palestinian issues. He is the founder of Iraqi Americans for Peaceful Alternatives. He has appeared on major television and radio shows including CNN, MSNBC, Fox, The News Hour, NPR, and Pacifica. He has been published in major newspapers and journals, including the Washington Post, NY Times and Christian Science Monitor. As an artist Andy Shallal has worked with a variety of materials. His murals have been featured in many publications including the Washington Post.
Korey Professor Korey was also selected as a Mayor’s Arts Award Finalist– 2008 in the category of “Excellence in Service to the Arts.” Her goal is the realization of the Calvin Jones Center for Jazz Studies – a vision that unites an outstanding jazz program, the JAZZAlive events calendar, education and outreach programs, and the acclaimed Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives – all at the only public institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. The Center will continue the legacy of the legendary Calvin Jones, Director of the UDC Jazz Studies program from 1976 to 2004. 17
Finalists
INNOVATION
Arts in Foggy Bottom
Arts in Foggy Bottom grew from the desire of three neighborhood residents to make Foggy Bottom a lively destination as well as the residential origin which it has been since the 1800’s. The goals of Arts in Foggy Bottom are to: (1) enrich the cultural environment of the Foggy Bottom community by providing exposure to the visual arts, especially sculpture; (2) create educational opportunities for residents, non-residents and students as they relate to the visual arts; (3) draw the attention of people who live outside of Foggy Bottom to this unique, historically-significant residential neighborhood; and (4) create a catalyst for energizing and connecting the business, educational, and residential communities of Foggy Bottom and the adjacent areas. With the aid of an artistic Advisory Committee, and under the auspices of the Foggy Bottom Association, Arts in Foggy Bottom organized in 2008 a six-month, curated Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit with twelve pieces of sculpture by Washington area sculptors mounted in the front yard of private homes. Special events and artist-led tours enhanced the experience. With the great success of the Sculpture Exhibit, Arts in Foggy Bottom is expanding its activities to make Foggy Bottom a venue for all the arts.
Catalyst Theater Company
Catalyst Theater Company’s mission is to produce the highest quality productions of plays that reflect a moment of remarkable change and to offer those productions to the public for $10 per ticket. Catalytic plays include everything from classic to contemporary plays that embrace a catalytic spirit by challenging current theatrical conventions. We are committed to producing at least one DC premiere each season. The Company was formed in the summer of 2001 to bring a different kind of theater to DC: “catalytic” plays from theater history mixed with newer works that embrace fresh perspectives and challenge conventions. In fall of 2008, we were thrilled to become a resident company at the Atlas Performing Arts Center and our first production there, a reworking of 1984 broke all of our previous box office records.
Miriam’s
Miriam’s Kitchen is a homeless services organization serving over 4,000 homeless men and women in Washington DC each year. In October 1983, a collaboration of The George Washington University Hillel Student Association, Western Presbyterian Church and the United Church founded Miriam’s Kitchen in recognition of a strong need for a breakfast program for homeless individuals. Miriam’s Kitchen’s mission is to provide individualized services that address the causes and consequences of homelessness in an atmosphere of dignity and respect, both directly and through facilitated connections in Washington, DC. As one of the few non-mobile feeding programs for the homeless population in DC, Miriam’s serves a crucial role in linking its guests to needed support services. 18
IN THE ARTS Vera Oye’ Yaa-Anna
Vera Oye’ Yaa-Anna is a Liberian-born artist who transports her audience to Africa through interactive storytelling, dance and drumming. Using the transformative power of storytelling, she teaches inmates how to craft and tell their “illuminating and inspiring” life stories to ease their reentry into everyday life, and cancer patients and their caregivers how to uplift the soul while dealing with the challenges of illness. Ms. Oye’ is passionate about her philosophy, work and community. An African proverb says, “A tale in a book is like a drum in a museum; it is silent and dead.” In her African culture, storytelling is a participatory experience between the teller and listeners. She lost her community in Liberia to political strife and immigrated to escape the horrors of civil war in 1990. She believes that introducing one’s self to any new community is never easy. The creative power of storytelling allowed her to share her culture and heritage with the residents of the District of Columbia. She helps to motivate and empower individuals to perform and share their stories. She feels that her greatest achievement to date has been traveling to Australia and interacting with Australia’s indigenous people: “Sharing our oral traditions through stories took us on each other’s journeys.”
Festivals DC, LTD. (Duke Ellington Jazz Festival)
Founded in 2005 by Grammy Award-winning producer Charles Fishman, the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival (DEJF) is now the largest music festival in DC; has received widespread praise in the media, and has rapidly become recognized within the global jazz community. The festival provides enriching and entertaining programs, the majority of which are free to the public, that appeal to the broadest possible demographic. In 2008, the DEJF featured more than 100 performances in 47 venues across the city, including six concerts attended by over 2,000 DC public and charter school students. Total attendance exceeded 55,000. Charles Fishman is a native of Brooklyn, NY, an alumnus of New York University and, later, “earned two Ph.D.’s at Dizzy Gillespie University,” as the legendary trumpeter’s personal manager and producer until his death. Mr. Fishman has produced, concerts and tours throughout the world with many of the jazz genre’s most renowned artists. He has also produced concerts and documentaries for television that have been aired on PBS, ABC, Bravo, and the BBC. His composition, “Magic Summer,” recorded by Dizzy Gillespie, was the theme for the film “The Winter in Lisbon”, to which the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs in “Winter in Lisbon”, a commissioned homage to Maestro Gillespie.
Kitchen In 1995, Miriam’s Kitchen started its After-Breakfast Program which provides clients with the opportunity to participate in therapeutic group activities each weekday morning. The After-Breakfast Program provides homeless men and women exposure to art experiences and serves an average of 26 guests every weekday morning in each of the 15 therapeutic group offerings, which include art therapy, creative writing, poetry, and pottery. Arts activities are an essential tool in engaging Miriam’s clients and provide this underserved population a way to creatively express their feelings and experiences. 19
Performers Ulysses Owens, Jr. | Composer and Arranger
Ulysses is a native of Jacksonville, Florida and a 2006 graduate of The Juilliard School with a Bachelors of Music degree with a concentration in Jazz Studies. He has performed with many world-class musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Russell Malone, Mulgrew Miller, and many others. He is currently the drummer for The Kurt Elling quartet, and has toured extensively internationally in countries such as Japan, Netherlands, Turkey, South Africa, Russia, and other places globally. He is an educator and has served as artist in residence at Jacksonville University in Florida, and currently is a faculty member at The Calhoun School in New York City. He also endorses Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, and Vic Firth Products. He just completed his debut album “It’s Time For U, and will be releasing it fall 2009. Ulysses feels incredibly blessed to be granted the vast opportunities that he has accomplished. He feels that He has truly been chosen not only to compose music, but also to perform and educate others of this wonderful creation. Hoping to continue with his philosophy of “Give the gift of music, receive the gift of life. Ulysses thanks his wonderful wife for her support.
C. Brian Williams | Step Master
C. Brian Williams is the Founder and Executive Director of Step Afrika! A Houston native, Brian is a graduate of Howard University and learned to step as a member of his fraternity in 1989. He began to research stepping after living in Africa. Exploring the many sides of this exciting yet underrecognized American art form led to the founding of Step Afrika! Brian has performed, lectured and taught in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and throughout the United States. He is also the founder of the Step Afrika! International Cultural Festival in Johannesburg, South Afrika. The Washingtonian Magazine recently cited Brian as one of the “40 Washingtonians under 40” to watch in the years to come.
Step Afrika!
C. Brian Williams, Executive Director & Jakari Sherman, Artistic Director
Washington Korean Dance Company Eun Soo Kim, Artistic Director
Urban Artistry Junious “House” Brickhouse, Artistic Director
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Beat Ya Feet Kings Diallo A. Sumbry, Managing Director
City at Peace DC Sandra L. Holloway, Artistic Director
Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Band Malika Coletta, Artistic Director
Golden Universe Dance Studio
Yu Jin, Artistic Director
KanKouran West African Dance Company
Assane Konte,
Artistic Director
O’Neill-James Irish Steppers
Laureen O’Neill-James, ADCRG, TCRG
Silk Road Dance Company
Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray,
Artistic Director
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Performers Washington Improv Theater
Washington Improv Theater (WIT) is equal parts inspiration, observation and fearlessness. For over 10 years WIT has engaged DC audiences with completely unscripted performances that exhilarate and inspire. Troupes onesixtyone, Jackie, Caveat, JINX, iMusical and Season Six are the main instruments of WIT’s mad genius, rehearsing and presenting a wide range of shows throughout the year. Support, agreement, finely honed storytelling skills and a militant sense of playfulness are what make WIT’s stage the place for “some of the most exciting live entertainment in Washington,” according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile offstage, WIT’s revolutionary training program is igniting the spirit of play for thousands of Washingtonians. Finding a creative outlet, meeting fun people, boosting your confidence in public speaking, or saving your very soul are all equally likely outcomes when you take a WIT class. Students and players, donors and volunteers all make up a vast and growing community dedicated to helping DC discover its brilliant, creative side. Ask anyone in WIT and they’ll tell you: the revolution will be improvised.
Coral Cantigas
Founded in 1991 by Diana V. Sáez, Coral Cantigas, is the only chorus in the Washington, D.C. area with the mission of increasing awareness and appreciation of the many rich styles of Latino (Latin American, Spanish and Caribbean) choral music, and promoting diversity by uniting communities through the joyful and transformative power of music. Coral Cantigas provides artistic excellence in creative programming; educational workshops; and bilingual, cross-cultural and collaborative performances to national and international audiences. The chorus performs in Spanish, Portuguese, and a variety of American languages and texts. The choir has presented the area and U.S. premieres of Paco Peña’s Misa Flamenca, Antonio Mir’s Misa Coral, Luis Morales Bance’s oratorio Berruecos, Ernani Aguiar’s Cantilena and the anonymous colonial Bolivian-work Misa Encarnación. In 2001, the choir opened its 11th season with a tour of Puerto Rico, and in 2006 its 16th season with a tour of Argentina. The choir is named after cantigas (songs), Spanish homophonic songs of the 13th Century that developed from both folkloric music and sacred chant. Coral Cantigas’ repertoire ranges from folk music and popular songs performed with folkloric instruments to classical works with orchestra. The chorus performs sacred and secular music of many traditions.
The Washington Ballet
Originally founded as The Washington School of Ballet in 1944 by legendary ballet pioneer Mary Day and incorporated as a professional company in 1976, The Washington Ballet (TWB) is one of the pre-eminent ballet organizations in the United States. TWB built an international reputation presenting bold works by choreographers from around the world, and their first artist-in-residence, Choo-San Goh, set the tone for the company’s emergence as a powerhouse among national companies. Contemporary pieces by Christopher Wheeldon, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp and Nacho Duato expanded the repertoire, as did Neoclassical masterworks and fresh stagings of 19th century classics. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Septime Webre and Executive Director Russell Allen, TWB has embraced a three-part mission: ensuring excellence in its professional performance company; growing the next generation of dancers through its Washington School of Ballet; and serving the community in which it resides through robust community engagement programs, including DanceDC and TWB@THEARC. For more information, visit www.washingtonballet.org. “Every good painter paints what he is.” Jackson Pollock, American Abstract Expressionist artist. This short phrase speaks to the long soulful journey of twin artists, Rachel and Rebecca Crouch. These Chicago natives, now residing in Washington, D.C., were born of the seasoned and inspiring brush stroke of artist and mother, Dianne Crouch. As children, they were immediately immersed into the world of art and had no choice but to develop that natural born aptitude. They both 22
Rachel C Rebecca
Crouch & a Crouch
Levine School of Music
Levine School of Music serves as a vital community resource by embracing two principles that are central to its mission: excellence and accessibility. One of the nation’s largest nonprofit community music schools, it offers music education to students of every age, ability and background. To maintain the School’s commitment to accessibility, Levine offers an extensive scholarship and outreach program that this year will provide more than 700 children with free music instruction at a cost to the School of $700,000. Levine was founded in 1976 in memory of musician and prominent Washington attorney Selma M. Levine. Started by Diana Engel, Ruth Cogen and Jackie Marlin in the basement of a small church, it has grown into one of the country’s leading community music schools. It is one of the few community music schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and the only all-Steinway community music school in the world. Levine is also certified by the National Guild of Community Schools of Arts as exemplifying the highest standards of excellence and access in community arts education.
Raheem DeVaughn | Grammy Nominated Vocalist
Having perfected his craft as a young artist by releasing numerous mixtapes and performing throughout his hometown of Washington, D.C., Raheem DeVaughn was determined from the beginning to be the best. DeVaughn’s story begins with music—his mother’s vinyl collection to be exact. His father, noted jazz musician Abdul Wadud, was an influence as well. It was the first day of college that would change the course of his life. “I saw a group of guys standing outside singing, Boyz II Men style,” remembers DeVaughn. “I just went up there and started harmonizing with them. Before I knew what was going on, I was in [the] group….” Although the group did not last, the direction DeVaughn’s life was about to take would have a lasting effect on his music. Introduced to a wider audience in 2005 with the release of his debut disc The Love Experience, DeVaughn has always strived to create the perfect hybrid of old school grooves and new school attitude. With the release of his sophomore project, Love Behind the Melody, it is obvious that Raheem DeVaughn is steadily moving towards his goal of becoming an eternal soul man for the new millennium.
Mambo Sauce
There are three things that you can only get in Washington D.C., The President, Go - Go Music and Mambo Sauce. This electrifying group takes their name from the mystery sauce popular at Chinese/Soul Food carry - outs throughout DC. Just as nobody really knows what’s in Mambo Sauce (the sauce), Mambo Sauce’s (the band) musical virtuosity will always keep you guessing as to what’s coming next. Comprised of seven of D.C.’s most proficient, young musicians, Mambo Sauce has created a new form of music that effectively blends D.C. Go - Go percussion with well crafted songs, explosive raps and sultry melodies. This talented, young group of musicians has come together with a burning desire to see Go - Go music make its mark outside of D.C. Mambo Sauce is currently hard at work on their debut album. Recording in Baltimore at Wright Way Studios (Dru Hill, Mario, Evan Taubenfeld (Guitarist for Avril Lavigne), Fertile Ground, Hezekiah Walker, 2 Live Crew, Crystal Waters) with head engineer/producer, Steve Wright and is due for release in 2009.
produce work in varied media using color, texture, movement, and flow. Their pieces are about the impossible and the discovery of promise. Music, life, limits, and change are just a few themes prevalent in Rachel’s work. The origin of Rebecca’s artistic premise stem from heartache, forgiveness, and new beginnings. Their poignant pieces are not only beautifully intoxicating stories, but also timeless works of art. Indulge in the art of Rachel and Rebecca Crouch, where they tell their stories, one painting at a time. An affair of the senses is only a stroke away. 23
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