On Sunday, May 5th, Lindy Hop legend Norma Miller, known as the “Queen of Swing,” made her transition, at 99 years old. She passed away in her home in Fort Myers, Florida, this morning, surrounded by loved ones, including longtime friends from the United Kingdom and members of the Italian Swing Dance Society, a group with which she toured in Italy. Ms. Miller had been the last living member of the African-American troupe that introduced swing dance to Europe in the 1930s. She had worked tirelessly during her final years to preserve the dance and its history, traveling around the world and sharing her expertise with professionals and newcomers. She was known for her versatility in the entertainment industry, her sharp sense of humor, and her gutsy outlook on life. 



See the memorable "Hellzapoppin' clip here

See the video clip from TODAY show here

Read press release below and more here

Information for Norma Miller’s Homecoming
Date: May 24, 2019T
Time:  10:30am – 1:00pm
Place: Benta’s Funeral Home
630 St. Nicholas Ave.
New York, NY 10030
212-281-8851

Burial:  2:00pm
Place:  Woodlawn Cemetery
517 East 233rd St.
Bronx, NY 10470
718-920-0500

There will be Two panels and dancing to live music that night in Harlem
Place: Sugar Hill Children’s Museum
898 St. Nicholas Ave.
New York, NY10032
Time: 6:00 – doors open

7:00 panel #1
7:50 panel #2
9:00 – 12:00am        
Dancing to Live music and DJ

Price:    $20.00

George C. Wolfe(Angels In America, The Normal Heart, Bring in 'Da Noise..., Jelly's Last Jam)will receive the SDC Director Award for exemplary collaboration with choreographers on Broadway at the 2019 Chita Rivera Awards (www.ChitaRiveraAwards.com),taking place at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place, off Washington Square Park) on Sunday, May 19 at 7:30pm. Joe Lanteri, Founder and Executive Director of the New York City Dance Alliance Foundation (www.NYCDAFoundation.net) produces the Chita Rivera Awards in conjunction with Patricia Watt.

The SDC Director Award is presented annually to a director for their exemplary collaboration with choreographers on Broadway. Mr. Wolfe was selected by an SDC committee of choreographers and will be presented the award by choreographer Camille A. Brown (Once On This Island, Choir Boy, Magic Mike: The Musical).

Read more here

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), has appointed Rebecca Hewett as its Executive Director beginning May 13, 2019.
 
Ms. Hewett comes to SDCF from The Shubert Foundation (TSF), where she worked as Senior Program Associate since 2014. At TSF, she conducted site visits nationally, made funding recommendations, and represented TSF at national conferences and play festivals. Prior to her tenure at TSF, Hewett was a Program Specialist with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA). There, she oversaw a portfolio of 150 non-profit organizations across the five boroughs, conducted site visits, led funding panels, and served as the department’s point person for CASA, an after-school arts education initiative. Hewett holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Theatre History and Criticism/Performance as Public Practice from University of Texas, Austin, where she also served as lecturer, and a B.A. in Theatre, with a Women’s Studies minor, from The College of William and Mary. Additional professional experience includes Virginia Shakespeare Festival, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.
 
As Executive Director of SDCF, Hewett will lead the Foundation’s efforts to create access to the field for emerging directors and choreographers, connect artists, advance the craft of directing and choreography, and honor the theatrical legacy of these artists at every stage of their career. She will work under the leadership of the SDCF Board of Trustees, headed by President Sheldon Epps, Vice President/Secretary Mark Brokaw, and Treasurer Ethan McSweeny, as well as Trustees Linda Hartzell, Anne Kauffman, Mark Lamos, and Laura Penn.  

Read more here

Camille A. Brown who hails from Queens, New York, and Juel Lane from Atlanta, Georgia, have spent a good deal of their ever-evolving dance carriers working on the same stages. Now, years after graduating from North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), Brown (’01) and Lane (’02) will each receive $20,000 from their alma mater.  Brown’s award is given for creative enterprise, and earmarked to help sustain her New York-based company, Camille A. Brown and Dancers, and Lane, for creative project, will be used to create new choreographic work.
The Chancellor’s Alumni Artpreneur of the Year Awards were launched in 2018 to support alumni who establish creative projects or creative enterprises of the highest merit, artistic excellence or innovative potential. Says Chancellor Linsay Bierman, “Camille A. Brown and Juel Lane exemplify what it means to be an artpreneur,” he added. “Trained as dancers and choreographers, they create groundbreaking work that enriches our culture, enlightens our society, lifts our spirits, and feeds our souls. They take creative risks, but are grounded in sound business practices. We’re proud of them, and we’re pleased to support their very promising careers.”

The Artpreneur of the Year Awards are part of the University’s initiative to nurture entrepreneurship. In the fall, the University will offer an entrepreneurship minor concentration – its first minor. “More than ever before, it is important that artists are able to carve their own path in the $800 billion creative economy,” Bierman said. “Disruptions across the arts and culture industries provide more opportunities for artists, but they must have the grit – business agility and the courage to take risks – to create their own career path.”