The Town Hall, New York City's landmark theatre and concert venue (123 West 43rd Street), honored two influential women: Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Dr. Joyce F. Brown, President of the Fashion Institute of Technology. They received The Town Hall's ‘Friend of the Arts' Award on Sunday, October 16th, 2011. The award is presented annually to individuals in recognition and appreciation for their abiding interest in the development, enrichment and support of the arts.
The Town Hall "Friends of the Arts" Award is presented annually to individuals in recognition and appreciation of their interest in the development, enrichment and support of the arts. Established in 1981, the award has been given to distinguished actors, musicians, business leaders and legislators. Past recipients include such luminaries as Jacques d'Amboise, Beverly Sills, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Andrea Marcovicci, Jane Alexander, Eli Wallach, Sheldon Harnick, Wendy Wasserstein, Theodore Bikel, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Marilyn Horne, Gerald Schoenfeld, Merryl H. Tisch and Elaine Stritch.
Judith Jamison joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became an international star. Over the next 15 years, Mr. Ailey created some of his most enduring roles for her, most notably the tour-de-force solo Cry. During the 1970s and ‘80s, she appeared as a guest artist with ballet companies all over the world, starred in the hit Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies, and formed her own company, The Jamison Project. She returned to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1989 when Mr. Ailey asked her to succeed him as Artistic Director. In the 21 years that followed, she brought the Company to unprecedented heights - including two historic engagements in South Africa and a fifty city global tour to celebrate the Company's 50th anniversary. Ms. Jamison is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them a primetime Emmy Award, an American Choreography Award, the Kennedy Center Honor, a National Medal of Arts, a "Bessie" Award, the Phoenix Award, and the Handel Medallion. She was also listed in "The TIME 100: The World's Most Influential People" and honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the first White House Dance Series event. As a highly regarded choreographer, Ms. Jamison has created many celebrated works, including Divining (1984), Forgotten Time (1989), Hymn (1993), HERE . . .NOW. (Commissioned for the 2002 Cultural Olympiad), Love Stories (with additional choreography by Robert Battle and Rennie Harris, 2004), and Among Us (Private Spaces: Public Places) (2009). Ms. Jamison's autobiography, Dancing Spirit, was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and published in 1993. Ms. Jamison continues to dedicate herself to asserting the prominence of the arts in our culture, and she remains committed to promoting the significance of the Ailey legacy - using dance as a medium for honoring the past, celebrating the present and fearlessly reaching into the future.
Dr. Joyce F. BROWN has served since 1998 as president of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a specialized college of art, design, business, and technology of the State University of New York. DR. Brown is the sixth president of FIT.A highly regarded educator and academic administrator and a strong advocate for public higher education, DR. Brown previously held senior administrative posts at the City University of New York (CUNY), including acting president of Bernard Baruch College and vice chancellor of the university. She also was professor of clinical psychology at the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY, where she is currently professor emerita. DR. Brown served as a New York City deputy mayor for public and community affairs during the David Dinkins administration. DR. Brown earned her doctorate and master's degrees in counseling psychology from New York University and her bachelor's degree from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY, where she served as a trustee from 1994 to 2000. She received a certificate from the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University. DR. Brown serves on selected corporate boards and is active in numerous community, civic, and professional organizations. She has served on statewide commissions and task forces on the black family, childcare, and domestic violence
Now celebrating its 90th Year, The Town Hall was built in 1921 by a group of suffragettes and began as a lecture hall and public forum for debates where "American Town Meetings on The Air" was broadcast live for 25 years. Over the decades, the stage has been graced by Eleanor Roosevelt, Carl Sandberg, Margaret Sanger, Billie Holiday, Igor Stravinsky, Bob Dylan, MiLes Davis and most recently, The Dalai Lama and President Obama. Today the hall flourishes as a popular, affordable venue, boasting the hottest acts in rock, pop, folk, cabaret, world music, comedy and dance, including Billy Joel, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Natalie Merchant, Graham Nash, Liza Minnelli, Cyndi Lauper, Norah Jones, Andre Watts, Henry Rollins, Joe Jackson, Pink Martini, Regina Spektor, Bryan Adams, Aimee Mann, Robin Williams, Dawn Upshaw, Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Al Gore, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Mercer, Jay Leno, Dave Matthews, Vanessa Williams, and Ben Folds. For over a decade, The Town Hall has hosted live broadcasts of Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion." In its annual show, "Rising Stars," The Town Hall gives recent graduates from the nation's leading performing arts schools a chance to showcase their talents and perform on the legendary stage. The Town Hall Educational Outreach Program helps schools build their arts programs and advance student learning through standards-based, collaborative arts residencies. Over the past two-and-a-half decades, The Town Hall has produced the Feature Film Seminar Series and a number of new and critically acclaimed musical series, which include Not Just Jazz, Broadway By The Year®, The Broadway Cabaret Festival and The Summer Broadway Festival.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photography / Retna Ltd.
