FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2008
Washington, DC—CityDance Ensemble joined the ranks of some of DC’s best-known companies at the Greater Washington Green Business Award ceremony on October 14, winning the first annual award in the category of Education/Outreach. The awards recognize organizations in the DC metro area who have made successful efforts to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices into their businesses and community work.
With a focus on teaching people—children and adults alike—about the importance of adopting environmentally sustainable practices in everyday life, CityDance Ensemble has a made a commitment to not only adopting green business practices, but also to incorporating environmental messages into its artistic programming. CityDance’s annual concert series Warmer focuses on the issue of climate change, using dance to give voice to this ever-growing issue. (This season’s Warmer series takes place on March 14 & 15, 2009, at the Music Center at Strathmore with a concert titled Carbon.) Our youth outreach programs focus on instructing children about endangered species through our in-school performance of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Books and on teaching children about the environment through our original kids’ show Dancing on One Planet.
As the only arts organization nominated for a Greater Washington Green Business Award, CityDance was privileged to be among the list of other nominees and finalists, including Akridge, Pepco, William C. Smith Co., PNC Bank, and many others.
“Winning this award is an exceptional honor,” comments CityDance Artistic Director Paul Gordon Emerson. “It’s remarkable to be in such distinguished company with these great businesses. It's a testament to the Washington Business Journal and Greater Washington Board of Trade that they took us seriously, and also that they reached out to recognize the impact art can have on awareness and education in how we change the way we live on this planet.”
CityDance Ensemble opens is 2008-2009 season this weekend with its performance of Next on Saturday, October 18 at 7:30pm at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. Taking a look at what’s next in dance with a collection of works by today’s up-and-coming choreographers, the concert features choreography by emerging artists Kate Weare, Austin McCormick, Christopher K. Morgan, and Jason Hartley, plus works by Paul Gordon Emerson and the late Sophie Maslow. Tickets are priced at $55, $38, and $20 and are available in person at The Kennedy Center Box Office, by phone at 202.467.4600, or online at www.kennedy-center.org.
About CityDance Ensemble, Inc.
CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is the parent organization to CityDance Ensemble, an award-winning contemporary repertory dance company; Early Arts, an arts outreach program for youth reaching thousands of students each year; CityDance Center at Strathmore, a facility committed to excellence in dance training for youth and adults; and FilmWORKS, a creator and presenter of dance-on-camera. The mission of CityDance is to advance the appreciation for and participation in the art of dance through excellence in performance, education, film, and artistic innovation.
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Read the Washington Business Journal's article about CityDance's award.
