Out & About
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The arts advocacy group Americans for the Arts supports high school bands, young artists, and community dance and theater companies throughout the nation.
But only one town’s chorus got to shine Tuesday at the group’s National Arts Awards: the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
Performing “Love Is Your Name,” by Kirk Nurock, composed for the chorus, 29 children from Brooklyn, ages 10 to 17, roared through Cipriani 42nd Street. In the green room before the performance, there were no jitters. These singers have a Grammy under their belt, and they’re used to grand spaces and audiences: They perform with professional orchestras and sing at 15 to 20 galas a year.
The members of the chorus are talented, rigorously trained, and devoted to the vocal arts. Jasmine Thomas, 17, a student at the Professional Performing Arts School, received a fellowship from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus for private lessons and coaching.
“Now she’s prepared for any type of career – jazz, opera, classical, pop,” the director and founder of the chorus, Dianne Berkun, said.
Ms. Thomas said she’d like to go into pop, following two singers she worships, Whitney Houston and Patti LaBelle.
Officially, the stars of the evening were the recipients of the Americans for the Arts National Arts Awards: collector and philanthropist Eli Broad; artist John Baldessari; dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov; actress Kerry Washington (who just signed on to do a film with the Wayans brothers); the founders of American Ballroom Theater, Pierre Dulaine and Yvonne Marceau, and Target Corporation, represented by Bernard Boudreaux and Leysha Ward.
Mr. Dulaine and Ms. Marceau, who danced together in Tommy Tune’s “Grand Hotel,” have brought ballroom dancing into 68 schools in New York City. They were made famous in the documentary film “Mad Hot Ballroom” and are now working on bringing the Dancing Classrooms program to other cities.
Jeff Koons presented Mr. Broad his award. Of events like these, he said, “I’m an artist, so I’d always prefer to be in my studio. But I’m honored to be here and do my part tonight.”
The event’s chairwoman was Maria Bell of Los Angeles, whose family has strong ties to the soap opera business. Other patrons included Gail Engelberg, Laura Paulsen, Adam Lindeman, and Perry Rubenstein.
Americans for the Arts is based in Washington, but has an office in New York, where staff members include the vice president for private sector affairs, Gary Steuer, and the new executive director of the Arts & Business Council of New York, Will Weiss.
