Winter Heat Latin Dance Party Gala Benefit To Raise Funds to Ensure Positive Futures for Dancers
Winter Heat, a special gala benefit evening at The Copa, will melt your winter chill with an evening of dancing to the sounds of the 21-piece Harbor Latin Big Band. This Latin Dance Party will raise funds for East Harlem's pre-professional performing arts school, Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts and the national arts service organization, Career Transition for Dancers.
New York, NY (PRWEB) February 3, 2006
Shake off winter's chill on March 2, 2006 at 7:00 p. m., with Winter Heat, a special gala benefit Latin Dance Party at the Copacabana, 56 West 34th Street (11th Avenue)in Manhattan. Enjoy an evening of hot excitement while dancing to the sounds of the 21-piece Harbor Latin Big Band. The evening includes a special performance by the Harbor Conservatory's Gestures Dance Ensemble in a work by choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie and a Latin dance lesson by Nydia Ocasio. Winter Heat will raise funds to ensure positive futures for those artists both leaving as well as those preparing for dance careers.
The evening's Guests of Honor are actress Rosie Perez, dancer Mercedes Ellington, and dancer/choreographer Pedro Ruiz. Serving as honorary chairs are dancer/actress Chita Rivera, Director of New York City Ballet Peter Martins, and dancer Sarita Allen.
Tickets are $150 for the gala evening. Special prime tables ($2,500) are also available as well as Sponsorships. For information, please call 212/427-2244 ext. 577. or 212/764-0172.
Proceeds will support East Harlem's leading pre-professional performing arts school, Harbor Conservatory, now celebrating 36 years of enriching the lives of young people through the performing arts, and a division of Boys & Girls Harbor; and, Career Transition for Dancers, the national and local arts service organization with a 21 year history of helping professional dancers identify their unique talents in preparation for establishing new careers when dance is no-longer an option.
Relive the Palladium Era when the mambo and cha-cha-cha were a national dance obsession, set amongst the Copa's glamour and sophistication of a 40's supper club with Art Deco décor, a sweeping dance floor surrounded with flowing palm trees, food and drink to heat up a winter’s night. The Harbor Latin Big Band under the direction of Louis Bauzo is dedicated to the sounds of the golden age of Latin Music, and celebrates the Big band music popularized by Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez. The Band has performed with such Latin greats as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Alferdo "Chocolate" Armenteros, and many more.
Serving as Benefit Chairs are Janice Becker, Fe Saracino Fendi, Beth Dannhauser, Ginny Knot. The Benefit Committee members are: Helene Alexopoulus, Caroline Crosson, Olivia Flatto, Susan Krysiewicz, Lady Maughan, Ann Van Ness, Homera Shani, Patricia Shiah, Susan Sosin, Burgi Steiner, and Laura Zeckendorf.
Since 1970, the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts, a division of Boys & Girls Harbor, a nonprofit multi-service youth agency, has been introducing young children to the world of dance, and nurturing and training talented teenagers for future professional dance careers. Studying with accomplished dance professionals, students build a solid technical foundation in classical ballet, modern, jazz and folkloric dance. Harbor staff provides one-on-one counseling, professional management and direction, advice about and preparations for auditions and competitions.
The Gestures Dance Ensemble, comprised of the Conservatory's most advanced students, has worked with choreographers such as Ronald K. Brown, Steven Rooks, and Jennifer Muller, performing at Central Park SummerStage, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, the Miller Theater and Aaron Davis Hall. With equally strong music and drama programs, the Harbor Conservatory is recognized internationally as the leading school for Latin Music. For more info please call 212/427-2244 ext. 573 or visit, www. harborconservatory. org
Career Transition For Dancers with offices in New York and Los Angeles, has helped over 2,900 professional dancers identify their unique talents in preparation for establishing new careers when dance is no longer an option. Since its founding in 1985, the organization has provided more than 35,000 hours of one-on-one career counseling - at no cost - and has awarded over $2 million in scholarships for education and retraining programs. CTFD also provides dancers with specialized services that include transition seminars and workshops; peer support groups; resource centers; a toll-free national hotline; a website; and the new National Networking Directory. CTFD is celebrating its 20th Anniversary year in 2005. The Caroline & Theodore Newhouse Center for Dancers is now located in new expanded offices to better serve its clients at 165 West 46th Street Suite 701 (at Broadway – the Actors’ Equity Building) NYC. CTFD’s phone number is (212) 764-0172 and the fax is (212) 764-0343. In Los Angeles please call (323) 549-6660. www. careertransition. org
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