The Martha Hill Virtual Celebration 2021
On Monday, November 22nd, 2021 at 7pm
we presented the Martha Hill Awards to
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Heidi Latsky
virtually via the platforms of Vimeo and Zoom.
We celebrated the achievements of these two stellar women as well as viewed dance films and heard a discussion led by Danni Gee. Young members of our new mentoring program who were recipients of our Covid Relief Grants were also featured. Plus we recognized the José Limón Dance Company on its 75th anniversary.
Watch it HERE (The password is: MHDF)
The Lifetime Achievement Awardee
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, founder of Urban Bush Women, is originally from Kansas City, Missouri. She trained with Joseph Stevenson, a student of the legendary Katherine Dunham as well as Dianne McIntyre. Ms. Zollar holds a B.A. in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and an M.F.A. in dance from Florida State University. In 1984 Ms.Zollar founded Urban Bush Women as a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. In addition to 34 works for UBW, she has created works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Philadanco, among others. In 2005, she was designated a Master of Choreography by the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center. In 2006 she received a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) for her work as choreographer/creator of Walking with Pearl…Southern Diaries. She was also featured in the PBS documentary, Free to Dance. Other awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a Dance Magazine Award, and a Bessies Lifetime Achievement Award. Her company has toured five continents and has performed at venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and The Kennedy Center. Ms. Zollar is a Distinguished Professor at Florida State University.
Photo by: Crush Boone
The Mid-Career Awardee
Heidi Latsky, originally from Montreal, first received recognition as a celebrated principal dancer for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (1987-1993). She has a BA in Psychology with Honors from Carleton University where she received the Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement and The Ottawa Ladies College Scholarship. Other awards include the Scripps/ADF Primus-Tamaris Fellowship for Choreography and the McGinnis Lectureship Award from Point Park College. From 1993 to 2000, Ms. Latsky collaborated with Lawrence Goldhuber in the critically acclaimed duo Goldhuber & Latsky. In 2001 she formed her own company, Heidi Latsky Dance. From 1998-2005 Ms. Latsky headed the Movement Department at The School for Film and Television where she developed her teaching practice-The Latsky Method. In 2006 Ms. Latsky began an intensive period of creation with bi-lateral amputee, Lisa Bufano, This marked a significant shift of focus for the company and a period of immense growth. In 2009 Ms. Latsky was chosen by Creative Capital Foundation as one of four choreographers nationally to receive an award for her evening length work GIMP, which was the subject of a feature length documentary by Richard Move. In development since 2017, D.I.S.P.L.A.Y.E.D is an immersive experience at the intersection of dance, fashion and art, transforming each venue into a unique gallery space.
Photo by: Darial Sneed
Golden Benefactors
Jody and John Arnhold/Arnhold Foundation
Patrons
Andra Corvino Ernesta Corvino Allen Maniker Vernon Scott
Sponsors
Mercedes Ellington Kathleen Harty Gray
Donna Krasnow Rebecca Lazier Jeanne Ruddy
Emiko Tokunaga Yasuko Tokunaga Ani Udovicki
Megan Williams