{"id":3171,"date":"2019-04-14T12:53:52","date_gmt":"2019-04-14T16:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danceparade.org\/?p=3171"},"modified":"2019-04-16T21:17:13","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T01:17:13","slug":"volunteer-spotlight-meet-mona-freeman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danceparade.org\/zh\/volunteer-spotlight-meet-mona-freeman\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Mona Freeman"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi, Mona. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How did you first find out about Dance Parade? <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"I saw a posting on LinkedIN last year and was intrigued by the idea of a dance parade.<\/p>\n

I love to create, direct and produce crowd pleasing entertainment and this seemed like a good match.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

This season, when the volunteer committee was looking for people to join, I answered the call!<\/p>\n

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What is your current role in Dance Parade New York?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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What is your favorite style of dance to watch? to participate in? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019ve studied numerous forms of dance, but ballet is what keeps me coming back because there is always something new to achieve.<\/p>\n

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What is your dance background or interest in dance? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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? <\/strong>
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