PARSONS DANCE GALA 2009

Hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of In the Heights

Celebrating Lynn Davis, Ellsworth Kelly, and
Dr. & Mrs. Edward Prostic

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7pm
The Times Center, 242 W. 41st Street

David Parsons, Gala Chair Linda Stocknoff, and the Board of Directors of Parsons Dance proudly announce Parson Dance's 2009 Gala hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7pm at The Times Center, 242 W. 41st Street, NYC.

The evening will begin with cocktails at 7pm and will include a performance by Parsons Dance, a competition Dancing in the Streets, where donors take the stage for one-minute routines with Parsons dancers as their partners, followed by honors. Parsons Dance recognizes Ellsworth Kelly and Dr. & Mrs. Edward J. Prostic, the lead commissioners of Remember Me, the company's January 2009 world premiere collaboration with the lead vocalists and music of East Village Opera Company, and Lynn Davis, a dedicated board member of Parsons Dance since 2006. Dessert, coffee, cocktails and dancing will end the evening.

Host Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creator-composer-lyricist of In the Heights, winner of four Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and recipient of a Best Leading Actor nomination for his performance as Usnavi. Other credits: West Side Story, Stephen Schwartz' Working (contributing composer), Freestyle Love Supreme (co-founder/performer). TV/film: "The Electric Company," "Sesame Street," "The Sopranos."

PARSONS DANCE GALA COMMITTEE 2009
Members of the 2009 Gala Committee are Linda Stocknoff, Gala Chair, and Co-Chairs Barbara Rohdie, Froma Benerofe, Richard Kielar, Vickie Morris, and Fiorenza Scholey.

Parson Dance's 2009 Gala will be held Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm at The Times Center, 242 W. 41st Street, NYC. Tickets begin at $495 and are available by calling (212) 869-9275, by emailing gala@parsonsdance.org or online at nycharities.org/parsonsdance.

ABOUT PARSONS DANCE
PARSONS DANCE is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally.

PARSONS DANCE HISTORY
Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total of more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year's Eve celebration. In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center.

The New York Times called David Parsons "one of the great movers of modern dance." New York Magazine referred to him as "one of modern dance's great living dance-makers."

David Parsons (Artistic Director/Founder) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance. Mr. Parsons was born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City. He was a leading dancer with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look and Roses. He is a recipient of the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, as well as the 2001 American Choreography Award, for his work as a co-producer of AEROS, a production featuring the Romanian Gymnastic Federation that was featured on Bravo. Mr. Parsons has created more than 70 works for Parsons Dance. He has received commissions over the years from The American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, the Spoleto Festival and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, to name a few. His work has been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Nederlands Danse Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance and BatSheva Dance Company of Israel, among many others. In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was honored to be the very first contemporary choreographer ever to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, in Verona Italy, where he choreographed Verdi's Aida. The Arena is one of Italy's most respected operatic venues. In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera's production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement in New York, at NYU's Skirball Center for the Arts.

Parsons Dance receives support from Bank of America, The Blavatnik Charitable Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Friars Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund of the New York Community Trust, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Nina W. Werblow Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, Theater Development Fund, Trust for Mutual Understanding.

For more information, visit www.parsonsdance.org.