Miller Dance News January 2012 Edition
What we've been up to lately ...OUT OF RUBBLE – The Phoenix Rising
With dance, art, and live music audiences will experience the reflecting, reacting, and linking of connections between the rubble of war and the "phoenix" in humanity -- our innate ability to overcome tragedy and rebuild our lives.
Within both evenings of performance, audiences will have the intimate opportunity to interact with the curator, Susanne Slavick and choreographer Mary Miller as they offer a pre-show wine and chat on December 9th, and a post-show reception on December 10th.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
July 2009 Edition
Miller Dance Turns 25
Miller Dance turns 25 this summer and to mark this milestone we decided to refresh our name from Mary Miller Dance Company to just Miller Dance—short and easier to remember.
We Thank You! for your interest and support over all these years. We hope you continue to participate and support our programs as we begin a new era in the company.
Watch For Miller Dance On Downtown Streets
During
July, if you are walking the streets of downtown Pittsburgh at
lunchtime, you may just find yourself in the middle of a
Miller Dance performance. The company will present its latest
site-specific collaboration, City Dance/Traveling Dance, five
times during the month, on July 1, 9, 14, 20, and 31.
The work features Miller Dance dancers and two guest musicians. Each performance will travel a different path through downtown sidewalks, reflecting the unique characteristics of each path and combining pedestrian movements with Mary Miller’s modern dance style choreography. No two performances will be the same as each path, sidewalk and even the people will be different.
The inclusion of dance as a part of life has always been an important element of the work presented by Miller Dance. The goal of City Dance /Traveling Dance is to bring modern dance into people's daily environment, celebrating the city and the places where people work and come together with one another.
City Dance/Traveling Dance was also presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in its July Gallery Crawl: Friday, July 17 in the evening.
$5,000 Highmark Grant Supports Education and Outreach
In the spring,
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield awarded Miller Dance $5,000 to
support the expansion of its educational outreach programs,
including Moving for Life!™ for special needs populations, and
the distribution of its newsletter to build awareness of these
programs.
Moving For Life!™ was developed by Mary Miller, who is certified in psychomotor therapy through New York Medical College, Flower and Fifth Ave. Hospital in New York City. This program offers classes to those with special needs, including varying degrees of hearing loss, vision impairment, and other challenges. Classes encourage enjoyment in moving while building physical strength, spatial awareness, and learning skills appropriate to each person’s abilities.
The benefits of the program are many and varied. When a participant remembers a movement phrase from one class to another or is finally able to coordinate skipping or jumping without difficulty, these are major accomplishments that contribute to a person’s self esteem, giving them confidence.
Mary has successfully implemented the program at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and at Peebles Elementary School and with special needs adults. With Highmark’s support, the company will be able to increase awareness of the program and its benefits among educators and administrators. The funds also will help MMDC disseminate information about its early childhood learning program.
“We believe that children of all ability levels should have access to programs that encourage participation in physical activity,” said Mary Anne Papale, director of community affairs at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. “We hope that our support of Miller Dance will enable even more Pittsburgh children to have fun and enhance their skills through the Moving For Life!™ program.”
“Miller Dance has always been about celebrating life and using movement to help people embrace who they are and how they live their lives,” says Brenner Brown, Miller Dance board member. “Through this generous grant, Highmark is recognizing how profound that message is, particularly for young children with special needs.”
Miller Dance board member Sheila Collins adds, “We’re excited about this opportunity to spread the good news about the cognitive, behavioral, and social development we are seeing in students who participate in Mary’s Moving For Life!™ program.
Miller Dance Needs Your Talent and Expertise
Do you have skills in any of the following disciplines?
- marketing or public relations
- grant research
- fundraising
- grant writing
- community outreach
- office administration?
If so, Miller Dance can put your talents and expertise to good use. Please e-mail the office if you would like to assist the company in its 25th anniversary season.
City Dance /Traveling Dance is funded in part by the A W Mellon Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation & the PA Council on the Arts, a state agency, through the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), its regional arts funding partner. Administered in this region by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.
This Newsletter is made possible through a grant from Highmark Foundation.