Stanford Makishi Named VP of Programing at NY City Center

Arlene Shuler, President & CEO of New York City Center, today announced the appointment of Stanford Makishi to the newly created senior position of Vice President of Programming. Beginning in January 2015, Makishi will oversee City Center's artistic planning and work toward expanding its performance season.

Currently the Associate Producer of City Center's acclaimed Fall for Dance Festival, Makishi will continue to program Fall for Dance. He will expand City Center's dance programs, develop additional main stage programming for City Center beyond dance and musical theater, and collaborate with Jack Viertel and Jeanine Tesori, the artistic directors of Encores! and Encores! Off-Center, to help develop ancillary offerings that enhance City Center's musical theater programs. Makishi will act as the primary liaison with City Center's Choreography Fellows and with Artistic Associate Wendy Whelan. He will also work with City Center's Education Program to expand outreach opportunities for children and seniors.

"With Fall for Dance, Encores!, and now Encores! Off-Center, City Center has long been a hub for exciting dance and musical theater," said Arlene Shuler, President & CEO of New York City Center. "As we look forward to presenting more work on our stage and in the beautiful studios and spaces throughout our building, Stanford is the obvious choice to help bring these plans to life. Over the last four years, Stanford has become an invaluable member of the City Center family through his work on Fall for Dance; he's discovered stunning new dance companies and enticed major ones to perform here. As a former dancer myself, I also know that Stanford's seven years dancing with the Trisha Brown Dance Company has given him an intimate understanding of how artists work. I look forward to working with him in this new position."

"I am excited and humbled to have the opportunity to help shape the future artistic profile of such an historic performing arts center," said Stanford Makishi. "With a foundation of solid programming already in place, as well as limitless possibilities ahead, the challenge and thrill will be to continue to define City Center's unique niche within New York City's rich cultural landscape."

In addition to being Associate Producer of Fall for Dance, Stanford Makishi is currently the Deputy Director and Director of Programs at the Asian Cultural Council (ACC), a foundation that fosters cultural exchange by making grants to artists, scholars, and institutions in the United States and the countries of Asia. Makishi has been responsible for overseeing ACC's grant-making programs and communications efforts.

Prior to assuming his position at ACC, Makishi was Executive Director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC), where he managed programming, operations, and external relations for the organization; led the purchase and renovation of the Jerome Robbins Theater; and expanded BAC's performance season and residency program. Makishi was also Director of Creative Services at Carnegie Hall, where he oversaw the group that serviced and optimized institutional brand management, publishing operations, Internet activity, pedagogy, and communications. Makishi was recently invited to serve as Artistic Advisor for the 2015 edition of the Ringling International Arts Festival (Sarasota, Florida), whose launch he helped spearhead during his tenure at BAC. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Makishi is a graduate of Harvard University, and has served as a committee member for the New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Awards and is currently a panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts Dance Program.

New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. It was Manhattan's first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia with a mission to make the best in music, theater, and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center's Principal Dance Company, as well as Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as "one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York." In summer 2013, City Center launched Encores! Off-Center, a series that features landmark Off Broadway musicals filtered through the lens of today's most innovative artists. Dance has been integral to the theater's mission from the start - and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival, remain central to City Center's identity. Vital partnerships with arts organizations including Jazz at Lincoln Center and London's Sadler's Wells Theatre enhance City Center's programmatic offerings. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers through programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People's Dance Series. Special workshops cater to families, seniors, and other groups, while events such as the Fall for Dance DanceTalk series offer learning opportunities to the general public. In October 2011, City Center completed an extensive renovation project to revitalize and modernize its historic theater.