DBDT Zenetta S. Drew Nominated for 2021 APAP Award

The Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) announced the nominees for its APAP Awards, including Dallas Black Dance Theatre Executive Director Zenetta S. Drew. APAP will recognize the nominees and announce the final award recipients at The APAP Honors, as well as celebrate the recipients of the Annual NAPAMA Awards and Halsey & Alice North Award for APAP Board Alumni.The APAP Honors, a virtual ceremony, will take place on Thursday, May 6, 2021 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. (EDT). The event is free and open-to-the-public.

Fifty-three performing arts professionals and organizations were nominated by APAP members for the following awards and represent the breadth and depth of the performing arts presenting, booking and touring field at this moment.

Final award recipients will be announced at The APAP Honors on May 6.

THE AWARD OF MERIT FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN THE PERFORMING ARTS

· Ronald K. Brown, Choreographer/Artistic Director, EVIDENCE, a Dance Company

· Rhodnie Désir, Artistic Director/Artist/Choreographer, RD Creations

· Christine Dixon, artist

· Raja Feather Kelly, Founding Artistic Director, the feath3r theory

· Zakir Hussain, tabla player, composer, percussionist, producer, actor

· Yo-Yo Ma, cellist, musician, founder, Silk Road Ensemble

· Christian McBride, bassist, composer, arranger

· Charles Miller, Program Consultant, Mayo Performing Arts Center

· Deborah Nagy, Founder and Director, Les Délices

· Moses Pendleton, choreographer, dancer and the artistic director of MOMIX

· Toshi Reagon, musician, composer, curator and producer 

THE SIDNEY R. YATES AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF THE PERFORMING ARTS

· Gail Boyd, President, Gail Boyd Artist Management

· Matthew Covey, Executive Director, Tamizdat

· Creating New Futures: Working Guidelines for Ethics & Equity in Presenting Dance & Performance

· María López De León, President and CEO, National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC)

· Nikki Estes, Director, Presenting & Touring, South Arts

· Florida Professional Presenters Consortium, Inc. 

· Dayna Frank, President/Co-Founder, NIVA

· Meena Malik, musician, arts consultant, and cultural organizer; Program Manager of Theater, NEFA; API Arts Network of Boston

· Mixedearners.org, Kevin Erickson and Sarah Al Howes, Esquire

· Rev. Moose Marauder, Executive Director/Co-Founder, NIVA

· The Performing Arts Managers & Agents Coalition (PAMAC) Charlotte Lee, Founder

· Jonathan Shmidt Chapman, Executive Director, TYA/USA

· Zeyba Rahman, Senior Program Officer for the Building Bridges Program (DDFIA), Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

· United States Artists, Deana Haggag, President & CEO

· We See You White American Theater

THE WILLIAM DAWSON AWARD FOR PROGRAMMATIC EXCELLENCE AND SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT IN PROGRAMMING

· Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Jean-Philippe Malaty, Executive Director, and Tom Mossbrucker, Artistic Director

· Barrington Stage Company, Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director

· W. Lee Bell, Senior Director of Programming, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts

· Celebrity Series of Boston, Amy Lam, Artistic Programmer

· Charleston Gaillard Center, Therese Spaseff, Director of Entertainment and Programming

· Zenetta S. Drew, Executive Director, Dallas Black Dance Theatre

· Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Kathy Ramsberger, President & CEO

· Brooke Horejsi, Assistant Dean for Art & Creative Engagement, Executive Director of UtahPresents

· Kodi Hutchinson, Artistic Producer, JazzYYC

· Lied Center for the Performing Arts, Bill Stephan, Executive Director & Chief Artistic Officer

· William Lockwood, Special Programming Director, McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton University

· Charles Miller, Program Consultant, Mayo Performing Arts Center

· Kristina Newman-Scott, President, BRIC Arts Media

· The Public Theater, Shanta Thake, Associate Artistic Director/ Director of Artistic Programs

· Steven Schmidt, General Manager, Riverside Concerts/City of Rochester (MN) Civic Music Department

· Kathy Schuman, Vice President & Artistic Director, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts

· Roberta Uno, Director, Arts in a Changing America 

· Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Caroline Cronson, Producer and Duke Dang, General Manager

THE FAN TAYLOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD FOR EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF PROFESSIONAL PRESENTING

· Andre Bouchard, Principal and Founder, Indigenous Performance Productions, a nonprofit company

· Mario Garcia Durham, arts administrator, educator

· María López De León, President and CEO, National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC)

· Deana Haggag, President & CEO, United States Artists

· Steve Lerian, Director, Cal Poly Arts

· Charles Miller, Program Consultant, Mayo Performing Arts Center

· Norton Owen, Director of Preservation, Jacob’s Pillow

· Diane Rodriguez, Director, Rodriguez Projects (posthumously) 

· Vera Wilson, Founder, Astral Artists, Inc. 

APAP is also pleased to announce Olga Garay-English as the 2021 recipient of the Halsey & Alice North Board Alumni Award. Garay-English is currently an independent arts consultant and is Senior Advisor for International Affairs to Fundación Teatro a Mil. The Halsey & Alice North Board Alumni Award is presented to an APAP Board Alum who “has demonstrated in their words and actions the beautiful spirit of generosity and giving, not only on a continuing basis to Association of Performing Arts Professionals, but to the field at large”.

In January, NAPAMA announced winners of its 2021 awards; Kevin Spencer, Self-Represented Artist, Educator and Advocate, Hocus Focus, Inc. will receive the Liz Silverstein Award for Agent-Manager of the Year, and Hollis Ashby, Artistic and Executive Director, Williams Center for the Arts will receive the NAPAMA Award for Presenter of the Year.

About Dallas Black Dance Theatre Founded in 1976, Dallas Black Dance Theatre is an internationally recognized professional dance company that engages the cross-cultural community through contemporary modern dance presented from the African American experience. The company has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages including the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Joyce Theater as well as performances for such luminaries as Her Majesty, the Queen, and President Nelson Mandela. To date, the company has performed in 31 states, 16 countries, and on 5 continents, including two Cultural Olympiads.

About APAP, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals APAP, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, based in Washington, D.C., is the national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust, performing arts presenting field and the professionals who work within it. Our 1,700 national and international members represent leading performing arts centers, municipal and university performance facilities, nonprofit performing arts centers, culturally specific organizations, foreign governments, as well as artist agencies, managers, touring companies, and national consulting practices that serve the field, and a growing roster of self-presenting artists. APAP works to effect change through advocacy, professional development, resource sharing and civic engagement. APAP is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization governed by a volunteer board of directors and led by President and CEO Lisa Richards Toney