See Chicago Dance, the dance industry's nonprofit service organization, is proud to announce its 2022 Community Celebration and award presentation, Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 5:30 - 8 p.m. at Venue West, 221 N. Paulina. The event co-chairs are 3Arts’s Executive Director Esther Grisham Grimm and Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project’s Strategic Program Director Princess Mhoon. The 2022 Host Committee includes Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities Commissioner Rachel Arfa, Pam Crutchfield, Sheila Rae Gross, Giordano Dance Chicago’s Executive Director Michael McStraw and Joffrey Ballet’s Chief Advancement Officer Brian Smith. Individual tickets are $250 and will be available at SeeChicagoDance.com later this summer. Sponsorships and Table Sponsors are available now starting at $2500. For information on sponsorships contact Julia@seechicagodance.com.
The annual Community Celebration gathers 250 dance supporters and artists to celebrate Chicago’s dynamic dance community and honor two very special people. In 2022, See Chicago Dance presents the See Chicago Dance Legacy Award to Joan Gray, long-time executive director of Muntu Dance Theatre and a leader and mentor in the dance community for decades. Also honored is Ginger Lane with the Distinguished Service to the Dance Field Award in recognition of her groundbreaking artistry and advocacy, establishing Chicago as a city at the forefront of dance and disability.
“In this Year of Chicago Dance, we are looking forward to this year’s in-person Community Celebration recognizing Chicago's dance community and two of its incredible leaders,” said Executive Director Julia Mayer. “This year’s award recipients are incredible examples of Chicago dance’s long history of outreach, activism and innovation. It continues today.”
After two years of online and hybrid celebrations, the beloved event will return this year to its familiar format: a cocktail reception, a seated dinner with awards presentation and, of course, performances. Performances include a new piece from Lane, which recently premiered at the CounterBalance Festival in September 2021 and a performance by Muntu Dance Theatre, who commemorates its 50th anniversary this year.
This year’s location, Venue West, is fully accessible. See Chicago Dance will be providing ASL, CART captioning, audio description and large print programs at the event. If guests require other accommodations, they may contact See Chicago Dance’s Accessibility Coordinator Surinder Martignetti at Surinder@seechicagodance.com.
ABOUT JOAN GRAY, 2022 LEGACY AWARD RECIPIENT
Joan Gray (she/her/hers) was born in Chicago in1949. Gray is most known for her role as a member and president of Muntu Dance Theatre. She began studying African dance in the late 1970s and first joined Muntu in 1984. Joan became President of Muntu in 1987 and led Muntu’s evolution to becoming one of the premier African dance companies in the country. After 30 plus years of service, Gray retired from Muntu in 2016.
In addition to her work with Muntu, she has made significant contributions to the broader local and national arts community. Gray was active as a board member of the International Association of Blacks in Dance for more than a decade and served on the African American Arts Alliance and the Chicago Dance Coalition. She also served on the Board of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for many years and took great pride in her role of influencing Federal funding decisions for artists and arts organizations across the country.
Gray’s success and accomplishments have been recognized over the years through many awards and accolades. She received an honorary doctorate from North Central College in Naperville and was also awarded a Graduate Fellowship from Stanford University. In 2017, Gray was featured in a 132 foot mural by artist Kerry James Marshall, as one of 20 women who changed the artistic and cultural landscape of Chicago. The mural is prominently featured at the Chicago Cultural Center in downtown Chicago.
Outside of her professional accomplishments, Gray is a loving mother of two, grandmother of three, and great-grandmother of one.
ABOUT GINGER LANE, 2022 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE DANCE COMMUNITY RECIPIENT
Ginger Lane (she/her/hers) is a dancer, choreographer and teacher working in physically integrated dance. She trained in Chicago with nationally-renowned instructors including Edna McRae and Stone-Camryn. Lane received a dance scholarship to the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts and went on to graduate from the acclaimed theater program at Northwestern University. Lane was an original member of Dance>Detour, the first physically integrated professional dance company in the tri-state area. She has been named one of “100 Women Making a Difference” in Today’s Chicago Woman magazine, received a 3Arts Award for her work as a choreographer and was grand marshal of Chicago’s 2019 Disability Pride Parade. She has also served as a dance panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, and currently is on the Board of Directors for both ReinventAbility and the Chicago Cultural Advisory Council.
In 1984, Lane became a wheelchair user following recovery from a skiing accident. She then embarked on a career of disability rights advocacy and became a leader of the integrated/inclusive dance movement. She performed with the Joffrey Ballet and was featured in “Dance From the Heart,” an Emmy award-winning film for PBS. As coordinator of the Arts & Culture project at Access Living, Lane curated and produced artistic and cultural events and festivals for 11 years. During that time, she also choreographed and performed in many inclusive danceworks as a member of the MOMENTA Dance Company (2003-2021). In 2008, she conceived of and founded CounterBalance: The Power Of Integrated Dance. She served as artistic director of this annual showcase, that is not only inclusive of but features work by disabled dance artists, until her retirement in 2020. Lane continues to work as an independent artist, mentoring emerging artists and experimenting with new technology in this digital age, consulting with Ballet Chicago and was recently honored by Mayor Lori Lightfoot as a Chicago Leader for Women’s History Month. She is also currently on the Summer Dance Advisory Council.
Lane discovered the transformative power of dance as a refugee to the United States. She and her siblings had to be hidden from the Nazis after their mother was murdered in Auschwitz. The story of her life in Germany, living through and surviving the Holocaust, is the subject of a new documentary, “Would You Hide Me?” set to be released later this year.
YEAR OF CHICAGO DANCE
In deep partnership with the local dance community, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) have designated 2022 as the Year of Chicago Dance. This citywide, year-long focus on dance is the first of its kind in the U.S. The collaborative initiative will activate Chicago’s dance industry to address critical issues facing dancers and the field of dance including funding, space, and capacity building — and to consider the sustainability of this work. The Year of Chicago Dance will, of course, also include dance performances, social dancing, and special events for the public in dozens of venues throughout the city.
ABOUT SEE CHICAGO DANCE
See Chicago Dance is a nonprofit service organization with the mission to advocate for the dance field and strengthen a diverse range of dance organizations and artists through services and programs that build and engage audiences. Its vision is to fearlessly inspire an ever-growing inclusive community to share in and spread the power of dance in Chicago.
See Chicago Dance is the source for all things dance with the city’s most comprehensive resource for dance information and one of the largest websites in the United States dedicated to the art form. Its two-pronged approach focuses on building audiences while developing a more cohesive dance community.
For audience members, See Chicago Dance offers a dynamic calendar of dance performances and experiences, Hot Deal ticket discounts, professionally written reviews and previews, and listings for more than 200 dance organizations.
For dance artists and organizations, See Chicago Dance provides a full range of Programs and Industry Resources to help build audiences, improve skills and foster appreciation of dance.
See Chicago Dance’s Board of Directors includes Amanda Banks (secretary), Debra Bernstein-Siegel, Patti Eylar, Colleen Flanigan, Michael Foster, Ladonna Freidheim, Sarah Lombardi, Meghan McNamara (president), Jorge Perez (vice president), Melissa Platt, Dawn Stanislaw (treasurer), Shiwali Tenner and Sarah Venuti-Yates.