TEAM SPOTLIGHT: Meet Ali Coleman!
In each issue of our STEPS! Newsletter we try to cast the Spotlight on one of our awesome team members to find out more about where they came from and to suss out their connection to dance and supporting the Dance Parade team. In this issue, we put the spotlight on Ali Coleman.
Hi, Ali. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us.
What is your current role with Dance Parade?
My current role with Dance Parade is helping to coordinate Sponsorship. For me, I’ve been involved coordinating the House Coalition along with Luis Vargas for 14 years and consider Dance Parade as the Super Bowl of all my events each year! Having run an ad agency with a lot of nightlife industry contacts, I’m pyshced to join Dance Parade’s Steering Committee, many of whom I’ve known for years.
What are you up to when you’re not helping with Dance Parade?
I am a veteran NYC DJ, party organizer & promoter and Nightlife Advocate.
What is your favorite style of dance to watch? to participate in?
I Love to watch all styles of dance, but I would say that Pasodoble is my favorite to watch…such power in the movement! My favorite to participate in is ‘Freestyle’…no structure, just free movement.
Check out this video if you would like to know more about Pasodoble!
(sadly we didn’t catch Ali Coleman dancing to it..just yet!)
What is your dance background or interest in dance?
I’ve always been an avid dancer. I had my 1st dance performance on stage at the age of 5 in my elementary school’s talent show. For me dance is akin to breathing…without dance there is no life!
If you could share the stage with anyone in history famous or not, living or deceased, a trained dancer or not, performing a routine choreographed by yourself…who would it be?
The Nicholas Brothers, definitely!
Last year we honored immigrants and indiginous dance with “Movement of the People”. The year before, we celebrate the repeal of the Cabaret Law with the theme “The Cabaret of Life” — What does the 2020’s theme “Dance Without Borders ” mean to you?
Dance Without Boarders confirms what I’ve said for many years now.. I believe that anywhere we go on earth there is music and there are people dancing to that music.
What dance group or dance style are you most looking forward to seeing this coming year in the parade?
That’s a hard one….Dance Parade is like eating Sashimi…so many spectacular dance styles…impossible to pick just one
If you could choose a Grand Marshal for this year’s parade….who would it be?
Francois K.
If you could pick another country to hold a Dance Parade and Festival….which would it be?
Germany, Amsterdam…Japan would be phenomenal!!
Working for a non profit organization can at times be daunting and frustrating with limited personnel and funding….what is it that keeps you coming back for more and more?
Dance Parade encompasses everything that I believe at my core. It involves all cultures sharing in one of our most ancient communal activities! It’s one of my favorite days of the year!!
Describe a special memory you have from Dance Parades past?
One of my special memories is of the very 1st parade…I remember being very excited for that day to arrive, and didn’t even dance in the 1st parade. Instead I stood on the corner of 5th Ave between 8th street & Washington Square (north) to capture the parade on video!! Just thinking about it now has a big smile on my face!
What pitch would you use to attract a new volunteer onto the Dance Parade team?
Dance Parade is absolutely the most fun you’ll ever have working!!!
- Publicado en 2020, Team Spotlight, Volunteer Spotlight
Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Mona Freeman
In each issue of our STEPS! Newsletter we try to cast the Spotlight on one of our awesome team members to find out more about where they came from and to suss out their connection to dance and supporting the Dance Parade team. In this issue, we put the spotlight on Mona Freeman.
Hi, Mona. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us.
How did you first find out about Dance Parade?
I saw a posting on LinkedIN last year and was intrigued by the idea of a dance parade.
I love to create, direct and produce crowd pleasing entertainment and this seemed like a good match.
I sent a connection request to Greg Miller, the Executive Director of the nonprofit that produces Dance Parade, stating that I wanted to know more about the Dance Parade. However, I was not able to be a part of it in 2018.
This season, when the volunteer committee was looking for people to join, I answered the call!
What is your current role in Dance Parade New York?
I am on the Curation Committee, planning the Dance Festival which will take place in Tompkins Square Park following the parade. I am currently watching through videos of dance performances to decide where they will be placed in the festival. I will then be coordinating the groups who will be presented on the family stage. The family stage will be presenting most of the groups that are made up of youngsters. I have previously presented dozens of performances with a cast of hundreds of children as young as three years old through teens.
What is your favorite style of dance to watch? to participate in?
Musical Theater and Ballet. When I began my dance training, I was influenced by the Broadway show A Chorus Line and the movie The Turning Point. I’ve studied numerous forms of dance, but ballet is what keeps me coming back because there is always something new to achieve.
What is your dance background or interest in dance?
My first formal dance lesson was at the age of thirteen. I was a high school gymnast and joined a ballet class in order to supplement my skills. I soon realized that I enjoyed ballet far more than gymnastics. I studied Dance Education at New York University and established a private dance studio shortly after graduation. I directed and taught students three years old through adults in Ballet, Tap, Jazz for over three decades.
If you could share the stage with anyone in history famous or not, living or deceased, a trained dancer or not, performing a routine choreographed by yourself…who would it be?
Gene Kelly, he made it look effortless. I would dance with him in the ballet presented at the end of An American In Paris. It’s a classic and doesn’t need any improvement.
Last year we celebrated the repeal of the Cabaret Law with the theme “The Cabaret of Life” — What does this year’s theme “Movement of the People ” mean to you?
Dance has been a means of expression since the beginning of time. For some people it is a cultural experience, for others it is a social experience, and there are those who bring dance to the stage for artistic expression or purely to entertain. With Dance Parade New York, we celebrate all of these dancers.
What dance group or dance style are you most looking forward to seeing this coming year in the parade?
I am looking forward to seeing the community engagement groups who will be performing on the family stage. With these programs in schools and community centers throughout NYC, these youngsters and senior citizens have been exposed to something new. They learn tangible skills in movement and expression as well as intangible ones like confidence and team building. The final project of being in the parade and festival brings all this together. Some of them may be involved in dancing for the first time, or possibly since a long time ago. This is a wonderful experience for them, I want to share their joy!
If you could choose a Grand Marshal for this year’s parade….who would it be?
I would choose Rhee Gold. He is a source of motivation and encouragement for dance teachers and studio owners in the private sector. Rhee’s mother was a dance teacher. Rhee and his twin brother Rennie grew up in that world. Thousands of students attend dance classes each week where they not only learn dance technique, they learn life’s lessons.
Working for a non profit organization can at times be daunting and frustrating with limited personnel and funding….what is it that keeps you coming back for more and more?
When you are working on something that has personal meaning for you, the struggle is worth the trouble. I support the mission of Dance Parade: to promote dance as an expressive and unifying art form by showcasing all forms of dance, educating the general public about the opportunities to experience dance, and celebrating diversity of dance in New York City by sponsoring a yearly city-wide dance parade and dance festival.
What pitch would you use to attract a new volunteer onto the Dance Parade team?
If you love dance and the unbridled freedom of dancing in the streets, you need to join us!
Thanks Mona–Folks who want to volunteer can click here to fill out our short form!
- Publicado en 2019, Team Spotlight, Volunteer Spotlight
Volunteer Spotlight: Dave Leventhal, Floater and Father to Be!
Dave, thanks for taking the time to speak with us and congratulations on expecting your first child. When is the baby due?
Haha, that’s really funny. How did you first find out about Dance Parade?
I met you shortly after the first Dance Parade in 2007. We would often see each other at Burning Man related events in New York, and doing 5Rhythms dynamic movement practice. Dance Parade was certainly on the radar of many of the people in those communities. Dance Parade sounded to me like a great example example of participatory culture — a concept of which I am passionate about. I went in 2008 and was hooked!
What is your current role in Dance Parade, Inc?
I am proud to say that I serve on Dance Parade’s Board of Directors, and have since 2009.
What have you been doing when your not parading around with this non-profit?
I practiced law for many years litigating class action suits and most recently got to put that behind me to realize my dream to open LIFT / NEXT LEVEL FLOATS floatation therapy center in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. We will soon open our second location in Huntington, Long Island.
Tell us more about LIFT. What are the benefits of floating and how did you get an interest in it?
When I was an undergrad at the University of Michigan, I discovered the sensory deprivation tank–It was very meditative and I’ll never forget how peaceful it was. In 2015 I opened LIFT, the first dedicated floatation therapy center to open in NYC in decades. Sensory deprivation/floatation therapy, which involves floating in skin temperature supersalinated water, in a lightproof and soundproof environment, has been around for over 40 years. There have been numerous studies documenting a wide range of benefits of floatation. On a daily basis, my guests share with me how floating helps them physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
What is your favorite style of dance to watch? to participate in?
I enjoy watching just about any style of dance, I can’t say that I am a connoisseur. In 2015 we had Mary Verdi-Fletcher, a pioneer in physically integrated dance, as a Grand Marshall, and through her I was introduced to wheelchair dancing. That was really a revelation for me, I was very moved. As far as dancing myself, I have two left feet. Doing 5Rhythms dance allows me express myself through movement, without being self-conscious about it. I can do a passable Hora.
What is your dance background or interest in dance?
I have no formal background in dance. I am fascinated by how dance is integral to community.
If you could share the stage with anyone in history famous or not, living or deceased, a trained dancer or not, performing a routine choreographed by yourself…who would it be?
Groucho Marx. There would need to be some comic relief if I was on stage.
What does this year’s theme “The Cabaret of Life ” mean to you?
On the surface, the theme is celebration that after nearly a century, New York City’s shameful Cabaret Law is finally set to be repealed. The law was initially enacted to keep blacks and whites separated during the Jazz era, and has since then been selectively enforced against people of color. The law also has suppressed the development of a nightlife scene that befits a city of New York’s stature.
On a more elemental level, “The Cabaret of Life” is a recognition that the arts enrich us on a daily basis, and that we are both audience and performer.
If you could pick a Grand Marshal for this year’s parade….who would it be?
Would it be too obvious to say Liza Minelli?
If you could pick another country to hold a Dance Parade and Festival….which would it be?
Norway. The natural scenery is spectacularly beautiful, the cities have striking architecture, the arts are supported and championed by the government, and everything seems to run smoothly and efficiently. The Norwegians and the indigenous Sami have rich cultural traditions to celebrate, and in recent years, Norway has drastically increased immigration, giving the country new cultures to celebrate.
Volunteering at a non profit organization can at times be daunting and frustrating with limited personnel and limited funding….what is it that keeps you coming back for more and more?
For me, the beauty of Dance Parade is how it harmoniously brings together people from so many diverse backgrounds and cultures. It highlights that our differences are worth celebrating. Especially in these divisive times, this core message of Dance Parade inspires me.
Describe a special memory you have from Dance Parades past?
While I always love to take in the spectacle that is Dance Parade, I have special memories of the times when I have danced in the parade. While, I have no aptitude for dancing, I do enjoy costuming, and have had great times dressing up for the parade. I strongly encourage everyone to dance in the parade at least once (and also to volunteer)!
What pitch would you use to attract a new volunteer onto the Dance Parade team?
Come on in, the water’s fine!
- Publicado en Volunteer Spotlight
Volunteer Spotlight: Mark Schmidt, Curator with an Umph!
Mark, we’re all looking forward to seeing the cultural dances you curated for Winter’s Eve next Monday–Tell us more!
For the past 6 years Dance Parade has presented all types of dance there, everything from hoopers, to stilt walkers and most notably, they like our folkloric dance groups. On Monday November 27th, we’re presenting four very unique ones. (see lineup in above Winter’s Eve article).
How did you first find out about Dance Parade?
What is your current role in Dance Parade, Inc?
What have you been doing when your not parading around with this non-profit?
What is your favorite style of dance to watch? to participate in?
What is your dance background or interest in dance?
If you could share the stage with anyone in history famous or not, living or deceased, a trained dancer or not, performing a routine choreographed by yourself…who would it be?
What does this year’s theme “The Cabaret of Life” mean to you?
What dance group or dance style are you most looking forward to seeing this coming year in the parade?
If you could pick another country to hold a Dance Parade and Festival….which would it be?
Volunteering at a non profit organization can at times be daunting and frustrating with limited personnel and limited funding….what is it that keeps you coming back for more and more?
Describe a special memory you have from Dance Parades past?
- Publicado en Volunteer Spotlight