Each year, Dance Parade selects various individuals from all corners of the Dance Community to honour for their perseverance, impact, contribution and uniqueness they have represented and supplied throughout their formidable careers. These recognized individuals are chosen by Dance Parade for their contribution to a particular genre of dance. Catch one of our grand marshals on a float in the parade, on stage at DanceFest and even at our official after party!
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Dr. Charles “Chuck” Davis 2013 Grand Marshal Dr. Charles “Chuck” Davis, artistic director of DanceAfrica (founded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1977), is one of the foremost teachers and choreographers of traditional African dance in America. Davis founded the Chuck Davis Dance Company in New York in 1968 and the African American Dance Ensemble in Durham, NC, in 1983. He has been a panelist for several programs of the National Endowment for the Arts and is a recipient of the AARP Certificate of Excellence, the North Carolina Dance Alliance Award, the 1990 North Carolina Artist Award, and the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine. He has served on the board of the North Carolina Arts Council since 1991 and in 1992 he received the North Carolina Award in Fine Arts, the state’s highest honor. In 1996, Davis and the African American Dance Ensemble were awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Dance Residency Program, a three-year initiative launched in 1994 by the New York Foundation for the Arts and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1998 he received an honorary doctorate from Medgar Evers College; he has received honorary doctorates from several universities, all of which mean a great deal to him. Most recently, Chuck Davis and DanceAfrica were cited as one of “America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: The First 100” by the Dance Heritage Coalition. |
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Jacqulyn Buglisi 2013 Grand Marshal Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director, Buglisi Dance Theatre In her four decade long career, Buglisi has made an indelible impact on the field of dance. Creating more than 70 ballets for Buglisi Dance Theatre and commissioned worldwide including: her full-length The Four Elements for the NY Flamenco Festival, LMCC/River to River Festival, Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, the Martha Graham Dance Company, NCDT, Richmond Ballet, Teatro Danza Contemporanea di Roma, The Juilliard School’s Emerging Modern Masters Series, Alvin Ailey II, and Ice Theatre of NY. Buglisi and Foreman with Capucilli and Dakin, premiered their ballet Runes of the Heart at Lincoln Center in 1994, followed by invitations worldwide to the Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Vail, Prague, and Melbourne International Festivals, among others. During her 30 year association with the Martha Graham Dance Company (1977), Ms. B was a Principal Dancer for 12 years; danced in honor of Graham on the CBS Presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors and in the PBS film An Evening of Dance and Conversation with Martha Graham. Presently Buglisi is collaborating with Italian artist Rossella Vasta on the Table of Silence Project 9/11, a public tribute performed at Lincoln Center by 140 dancers. Mayor Claudio Ricci of Assisi declared the Table of Silence an Unesco Siti (a National Treasure). Ms. Buglisi is Chairperson of the Modern Department at The Ailey School since 1988, and served on the faculty of The Juilliard School (91-2005). Her honors include the American Dance Guild Award for Artistic Excellence, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Altria Group’s 2007 Women Choreographer Initiative Award, among others. She serves on Dance/USA’s Board of Trustees as Chair, Artistic Directors Council and is listed in Wikipedia. |
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Louie Vega 2013 Grand Marshal Impossible to pigeonhole and irreplaceable to the scene which he has helped build over more than 20 years, Louie Vega is the quintessential music professional. He’s the ‘DJ’s DJ’, that name constantly thanked on an artist’s album, the one who has influenced and defined countless other DJ-producers, from today’s brightest stars to those still beat-matching in their bedrooms. Louie Vega is a Grammy winning and four time nominated DJ, producer, songwriter and composer (Masters at Work, Elements of Life). For over two decades, Vega has influenced dance music, and the music world in general. He has worked with artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Tito Puente, Black Eyes Peas, and more. “After years in the studio, clubs and DJing what makes my heart beat on the floor is when I see live and in front the reactions of people when they are dancing,” says Vega. Breaking down musical barriers and bringing people together through a love of music has always been Vega’s aim; after more than 20 years in the game his contributions continue to positively influence the global House and world music scenes. “Loving what I do as much as when I first laid ears on this music, when I first dj’d as a child at 12 years old, ” as Louie fondly remembers. You can be sure that Louie’s sound will keep evolving and growing while his spirit and love will continue to remain true to the music as it has for the past 20 years. Listen closely as the best has yet to come from Louie Vega! |
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Ashley Tuttle 2012 Grand Marshal Ashley Tuttle was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join American Ballet Theatre at the age of 16. As a prima ballerina with ABT, Ms. Tuttle‘s career spanned 17 years and is known for her pure classicism and vivid characterizations. Her repertoire ranges from works by George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Jiri Kylian, Mark Morris, Agnes De Mille, Antony Tudor and William Forsythe.Tuttle joined the acclaimed Twlya Tharp Dance Company in 2000 where Tharp created the hit Broadway show “Movin’ Out” when she earned a TONY Award and Fred Astaire Dance Award nominations. Ms. Tuttle recent credits include Tharp’s “Come Fly Away”, Carmen, guest performances with Dance Theater of Harlem, the Guggenheim Museum’s Works in Process with Pam Tanowitz Dance and Lynne Taylor Corbett.Tuttle has been a volunteer teacher and board member at Groove With Me, a Harlem-based dance school focused on children at risk. Tuttle also teaches ballet at the Mark Morris Dance Group, Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, and Barnard University. Tuttle was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Wofford College in the spring of 2011. |
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Elisa Monte 2012 Grand Marshal A professional dancer since age 11, Elisa Monte made her debut at New York’s City Center in the Agnes DeMille revival of Carousel. An alumnus of George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet, she spent eight years as a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Company, and also danced with Lar Lubovitch and Pilobolus, among others. The late Alvin Ailey championed Monte’s work from its beginnings. He brought her first choreographic work, Treading, into his company’s repertoire and also commissioned Pigs & Fishes. The two companies have maintained a strong link ever since. Judith Jamison’s support of EMD has extended that tradition with the commission of Mneumonic Verse. |
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Bill Shannon 2012 Grand Marshal Bill Shannon, born 1970, has evolved a unique “soul skating” art-form that mixes street dancing on rocker-bottom crutches with 70′s roots skateboarding style. Notably, Shannon’s rolling-dance is a result of a childhood degenerative hip disease that resulted in his evolving extraordinary crutch balancing skills. The rhythmic musicality of Shannon’s skateboard carves with crutches harkens more to a 1970’s Roller Funk disco dancer lineage than any contemporary notion of an extreme sport.Bill’s numerous acknowledgments include a Wynn Newhouse Award in (2011), John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2003), Foundation for Contemporary Art Award (2000). Bill’s Official Website is: www.whatiswhat.com |
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Jonathan Peters 2012 Grand Marshal Jonathan Peters is an American DJ, mixer and producer. At age 17, “JP” began his extraordinary DJing career as the resident at Cafe Iguana. Peters has been featured at legendary nightclubs including The Sound Factory, Pacha and Webster Hall in New York, as well as at major music festivals in Ibiza and across the globe. Now a fixture of NYC nightlife for over 25 years, he can be found behind the decks at clubs along the eastern seaboard. He has been awarded Best DJ from DJ Times in 2006 and is consistently among Americas Top 100 DJs. Most recently he is resident DJ Saturday nights at Amnesia NYC. |
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Charles Reinhart 2011 Grand Marshal Charles L. Reinhart has worked as a producer, manager, festival director, consultant and administrator in the arts since 1955. President of the American Dance Festival (ADF) since 1968, he was Co-Director with the late Stephanie Reinhart from 1993 to 2002. Mr. Reinhart is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), where he is the Dance Chair. In addition to serving on dance panels for the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation, he was the U.S. representative of the International Theatre Institute’s dance committee. He has produced many dance events in New York City and has written articles for The New York Times, Dance Magazine and the North Carolina Medical Journal. Mr. Reinhart has been the recipient of numerous domestic and international awards for his lifetime achievement in dance, service to the arts and production. |
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“Billy Elliot” (Joseph Harrington) 2011 Grand Marshal Joseph Harrington has been taking dance classes since he was three years old. When at home in Ohio Joseph trains at the “Just Off Broadway” dance studio in Mt. Carmel, OH and with the Cincinnati Ballet. He is a student at the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in downtown Cincinnati. He started performing in Billy Elliot last October and loves all areas of dance, but will usually say that ballet is his favorite. |
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Kat Wildish 2011 Grand Marshal Kat Wildish is a New York City master ballet and pointe teacher currently on faculty at The Ailey Extension Program. She performed with New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and numerous international companies including Zurich Ballet, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and The Eglevsky Ballet. She is an ABT® Certified Teacher in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and has been teaching over 35 years. A Ford Foundation Scholarship winner, Kat is also Artistic Director of the semiannual Performing in NY Showcases & will produce the first annual NYC Festival of Dance Schools June 15-16, 2011. |
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Amy Marshall 2010 Grand Marshal Performer, choreographer, professor and executive director Amy Marshall’s performance affiliations include Paul Taylor, David Parsons, H. T. Chen and Dancers, Cortez and Company. She founded Amy Marshall Dance Company in 2000. The company’s mission is to embody life’s complexity and the pure elation it imparts to the world. |
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DJ Jellybean Benitez 2010 Grand Marshal Internationally renowned DJ Jellybean Benitez has produced and/or remixed over one-hundred “Top 10″ hits and more than thirty-five #1 records for legendary artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and others. He has composed themes for hit TV programs including The Ricki Lake Show and PBS’s American Family, as well as films Carlito’s Way and Species. Benitez’s weekly syndicated mixshow reaches millions of listeners worldwide. In 2005 he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. |
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Elizabeth Zimmer 2010 Grand Marshal Elizabeth Zimmer writes for Metro, Ballet Review, and other publications. She is the editor of Body Against Body: The Dance and Other Collaborations of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (Station Hill Press, 1989). She has studied many forms of dance, and performed in works of Joshua Fried, Jamie Cunningham & Tina Croll, and Christopher Williams. Zimmer has lectured across the U.S., Canada, Taiwan, and in Italy. |
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Ellenore Scott 2010 Grand Marshal Ellenore Scott most recently won America’s heart and votes with her dynamic performances on SYTYCD. In addition to appearing on the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, she has danced with numerous dance companies including The Von Howard Project. As a choreographer, she assisted Earl Mosley in setting “Saddle Up!” on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Scott received Honorable Mention from National Foundation for the Advancement of Arts and is an honors graduate from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (the “FAME” school). |
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Don Campbell “Campbellock” 2009 Grand Marshal Representing Urban Dance (“Locking”) The creator and originator of Locking or Campbellocking a dance art form with the improvisational steps called the locks , created in the nightclubs of Los Angeles in the early 1970s. This dance and subculture quickly caught on and was soon the rage of Soul Train. Through out the 70′s this was the most influential group in street dance history. |
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Morocco (Carolina Varga Dinicu) 2009 Grand Marshal Morocco (Carolina Varga Dinicu) is considered the leading performer & authority in her field. One of the first inducted into the AAMED Mideastern Dance Hall of Fame. In 2005 MECDA voted her their Humanitarian Award for her “body of work” over a lifetime in furthering and enriching Near and Mid-Eastern music a=nd dance & in 2006 the Isis Foundation gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award in Ethnic Dance from the Near and Middle East. Morocco created the Casbah Dance Experience. She’s spent over 48 years trying to find, recover, preserve and present them before they disappear, due to modernization and/or fundamentalism. |
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Luis Salgado 2009 Grand Marshal Luis Salgado (Choreographer) is the Latin Assistant Choreographer of the Tony Award Broadway Musical, In The Heights. Luis is the founder/director of R. Evolucion Latina — DARE TO GO BEYOND!, a collective of artists and activists committed to empowering the artistic community in order to inspire growth within the Latino Community. |