By Bohne L. Lipsey | Development Services Assistant
In January, YoungArts kicked off its 35th anniversary year with National YoungArts Week, welcoming approximately 170 YoungArts Finalists to Miami. Throughout the week, these talented young artists worked with esteemed master teachers and mentors including MacArthur Genius Tarell McCraney (1999 Winner in Theater), Hip Hop feminist writer Joan Morgan, The Royal Ballet of London’s Sarah Lamb (1998 Winner in Dance & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts), celebrated contemporary visual artist Jose Parla, and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Doug Blush (1984 Winner in Cinematic Arts), among others.
For 35 years, YoungArts has been offering emerging artists the support and encouragement they need to follow their dreams of becoming professional artists. During this time, we have developed a strong alumni network of more than 20,000 artists, many of whom value the encouragement they received at a young age so much so that they are now paying it forward as YoungArts master teachers,” stated Lisa Leone, Vice President of Artistic Programs for YoungArts.
National YoungArts Week culminated with the organization’s largest annual fundraiser, the YoungArts Backyard Ball, which was emceed by Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor, singer and director, YoungArts Alumnus Billy Porter (1987 Winner in Theater). During the event, YoungArts honored director and actress Rosie Perez and director Robert Wilson with the Arison Award, as well as performer, Tony Award nominee, YoungArts Master Teacher and 1997 YoungArts Winner in Theater Tony Yazbeck with the Arison Alumni Award, for their outstanding contributions and indelible impact on the arts.
To reach out to more students, YoungArts also offers regional programs in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles, which are modeled after National YoungArts Week. Each regional program engages YoungArts Winners from all award levels—Finalist, Honorable Mention and Merit—and exposes local audiences to emerging artists in their community.
In February, YoungArts Los Angeles welcomed close to 80 YoungArts Winners, and provided them with the opportunity to take master classes and showcase their work. The intensive week included interdisciplinary workshops and concentrated master classes with renowned masters in their fields, such as choreographer, director and three-time Emmy Award winning actress Debbie Allen; Transparent producer Joan Scheckel; celebrated choreographer John Heginbotham; acclaimed composer and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain; Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist Vijay Gupta; visual artist Edward Arceneaux; BODYTRAFFIC Artistic director Lillian Barbeito; design duo the Haas Brothers; and the award-winning independent filmmaking duo of Nancy Savoca and Rich Guay.
The YoungArts Miami and YoungArts New York Regional Programs are still to come, and will be highlighted in our next report. For more information on our current and upcoming programs, visit www.youngarts.org. Thank you for your support!
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