Executive Director's Message

Thank you for celebrating with us this evening as we honor Denise Roberts Hurlin for her ongoing commitment to the dance community. Her remarkable dedication to dance both as an artist and an administrator goes back nearly four decades to the time when she danced with our company; to her career as a Paul Taylor Dance Company member; to the early nineties when she co-founded Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program she continues to lead at Broadway Cares. We admire her greatly and treasure her as a loving part of the Parsons family.

Since 1987 when David cofounded Parsons Dance with Howell Binkley, we have been fortunate to have people like Denise and so many others on our team. We are immensely grateful to our Board of

Directors, patrons, presenters, friends, foundations, and fellow artists who strengthen our resolve to engage audiences in what we do. Thanks also goes out to our extraordinary dancers who rehearse, perform, and participate in countless education programs throughout the year.

Parsons Dance is proud that, so far, 2022/2023 has been a banner season with our return to a full plate of live programming. A highlight occurred just this past week when our partnership with the Battery Park Conservancy and Ballet Tech – New York’s Public School for Dance came to fruition with free performances of David’s work “About Sprouts,” taking place in the Battery Playscape and featuring over 50 fourth and fifth grade students.

In November 2022, we launched a six-week tour across Italy, where we staged 31 fabulous shows for over

32,000 audience members– a record for Parsons Dance; and in March 2023 we experienced a critically acclaimed and hugely successful run at The Joyce Theater that showcased newly commissioned works by David and Generation Now Fellow Rena Butler.

Coming up this June, we will hold our New York City Summer Intensive, an annual opportunity for advanced students and aspiring professionals to train with our dancers. And in July, we will participate in the Fire Island Festival and Westhampton Beach Project, two fantastic outdoor events. We are certainly busy, and we are having fun.

Speaking of fun, thank you again for joining us tonight. We are grateful for your support and delighted to have you here.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Josue Executive Director