Photo Flash: Inside Broadway Dreams Foundation's NIGHT OF DREAMS Gala

On Monday, December 9, 2013, The Broadway Dreams Foundation held its third annual holiday gala, "Night of Dreams," at Celsius, a restaurant, bar and event space within the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park. At this one of a kind urban winter wonderland in of the heart of midtown Manhattan, Broadway's brightest stars and patrons of the arts joined together for a festive celebration of the country's premier musical theatre training program. Check out photos from the festivities below!

Hosted by BDF board members Adam Sansiveri of Bernstein Global Wealth Management and Ryan Stana of RWS and Associates, the "Night of Dreams" Gala kicked off the second season-long partnership between The Broadway Dreams Foundation and Upsilon Ventures. With this exciting, new collaboration, BDF will help realize the Park's mission of providing quality free entertainment to its more than 6 million annual visitors with performances by BDF students and Broadway teaching artists.

Proceeds from the evening will allow The Broadway Dreams Foundation to continue to offer high level educational opportunities, theatrical training and scholarships to students of all ages. BDF offers significant scholarships to hundreds of participants each year, ensuring that all qualified students are able to realize their Broadway dreams regardless of their financial status. This past year, 42% of all BDF students attended programs on full or partial scholarship. Past students have gone on to star on Broadway and in national touring and regional productions including If/Then, Annie, Little Miss Sunshine,Violet, The Book of Mormon, Bring It On the Musical, Porgy and Bess, Evita and more.

The Broadway Dreams Foundation, led by Executive Director Annette Tanner, teaches the next generation of musical theater performers how to kick start their career through unique, week-long performance intensives taught by Broadway's brightest stars and savvy industry insiders. Attendees receive first-rate training in acting, dance and vocal performance before participating alongside their Broadway idols in concerts event open to the public and directed by one of the industry's finest directors. This past summer, BDF students performed at prestigious venues across the country including, The KimMel Center in Philadelphia, PA; Omaha Performing Arts in Omaha, NE; UCLA in Los Angeles, CA; Hartford Stage in Hartford, CT; RISPA in Atlanta, GA; and The Matthews Playhouse in Charlotte, NC.

In addition to the week-long Summer Performing Arts Intensives, BDF offers shorter, concentrated workshops entitled "Triple Threat Extremes" in cities throughout the country. For more information on The Broadway Dreams Foundation, please visit: www.mybroadwaydreams.com.

Photo Credit: Jenny Anderson and Vii Tanner