Career Transition For Dancers Announces 'Stepping Into Hope and Change NYC', 4/7

Career Transition For Dancers announces the 2nd annual "Stepping Into Hope and Change NYC: A free career development conference for dancers" on Thursday, April 7, at the Actor's Equity Audition Center, 165 W 46Street 2nd floor NYC NY 10036.

The free all-day conference begins with Registration and Free Breakfast from 9:30am-10:00am -
10:00am-11:30am - Creating choices and connections for your future: Introduction to Career Transition For Dancers

KEYNOTE Speaker: Rachel S. Moore, Executive Director of American Ballet Theatre, is a former member of ABT's corps de ballet. She was named Executive Director in April 2004. Previously, she served as Director of Boston Ballet's Center for Dance Education and also was the Executive Director of Project STEP, a classical music school for students of color in Boston and Managing Director of Ballet Theatre of Boston. She has also held senior positions with Americans for the Arts and the National Cultural Alliance, both in Washington, DC; and has also served as an Arts Administration Fellow at the National Endowment for the Arts. She has served on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Arts Council and served as an advisor to the Diversity Committee at Boston Symphony Orchestra. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the board of Dance/USA, serves as a director for the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda and as a member of the Child Performer Advisory Board for the New York State Department of Labor. She is a member of the United States National Commission for UNESCO, and continues to serve as an advisor to Project STEP. Moore has taught at Emerson College, Boston University and currently at Columbia University. She was named a White House presidential Scholar in the Arts, and inducted into the YWCA's Academy of Women Leaders and was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from Columbia University's Teacher's College. Moore was given the Distinguished Alumni Award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

11:45am-1:15pm - Morning Breakout Sessions: Identifying your mission and personal statement (Part 1) / Taking charge of money: / Telling not selling.

1:15-2:00pm - Free Light Lunch 1:45-2:45pm - Resource Fair

2:45-3:00pm - KEYNOTE Plenary Speaker: Francesca Harper, Founder of the Francesca Harper Dance Project ; studied at the School of American Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School, Ailey School, and under Madame Darvash and Barbara Walczak. After performing with the Dance Theater of Harlem, she danced as a principal in William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt. Since returning to the States she has performed on Broadway in Fosse, The Producers, The Frogs, and The Color Purple. She played opposite Molly Ringwald in a national tour of Sweet Charity, and the role originated by Judith Jamison in a revival of Sophisticated Ladies. Harper's choreographic career began in Germany, choreographing a full evening work for the Holland Dance Festival. She has choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, and her own company . Her original hybrid work was first seen at the Cherry Lane Theatre, as part of 50 minutes with Harriet and Phillis, a collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Margo Jefferson and composer Paul Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky. She premiered her critically-acclaimed one-woman show The Fragile Stone Theory at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Her latest commissioned work, Documotion : ONE - Rave, was requested by Judith Jamison to be performed at the 50th Anniversary of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center at the Apollo Theater. Her company was recently featured at Solstice: Dancing at the Crossroads in Times Square, and at the Holland Dance Festival. Highlights include performances at The Joyce Theater, Harlem Stage, Joyce SoHo, The Apollo Theater, Bloomberg Culture Series, Central Park Summerstage and Venice Biennale. Most recently, she worked as a ballet consultant for the feature film, "BLACK SWAN."

3:15-4:45pm Afternoon Breakout Sessions: Careers in dance / Developing your online profile / Identifying your mission and personal statement (Part 2).
All dancers - whether they are still dancing, staying in the dance field, preparing for a transition, already transitioned, or exploring other industries, next steps and career paths - are invited to attend. You can stay the whole day or choose individual sessions. Space is limited for this valuable free event so please RSVP to http://steppingintohopeandchangenyc.eventbrite.com or call 212 764 0172 x232 and speak to Kaylen Ratto, Client Outreach Coordinator.
Career Transition For Dancers, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, has helped over 4,800 professional dancers in 47 states identify their unique talents in preparation for establishing new careers when dance is no longer an option. Since its founding in 1985, the organization has provided more than 46,000 hours (equivalent to over $4 million) of one-on-one career counseling and program services - at no cost - and has awarded millions of dollars in scholarships for education, entrepreneurial grants, and certification programs. The organization also provides dancers with specialized services that include transition seminars and workshops, peer support groups, resource centers, a toll-free national career counseling hotline, a website, and a National Career Network. www.careertransition.org