Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson, Nycole Ray and More Receive 2013 Dance Council of North Texas Honors Today

DCNT has announced the 2013 Honors recipients. Passion and dedication are the mark of each recipient. The six dancers will be honored today, September 29, 2013, 2:00 pm. The public is invited to celebrate their achievements, enjoy a showcase of selected 2013 Dance Council scholarship dancers and a Silent Auction featuring an irresistible selection of performance and visual arts items and tickets.

Mary Bywaters Award for Lifetime Contribution to Dance - Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson

The husband-wife team of Bill Atkinson and Ann Etgen is a Dallas institution. Each had extensive professional ballet careers in New York, Canada, and South America before coming to Dallas. Through the Etgen-Atkinson Ballet School, Bill and Ann have had distinguished careers training dancers, choreographing gorgeous ballets, and directing their company, the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet. The Choreography Plan of The National Association for Regional Ballet honored three of their ballets and the N.E A. awarded them a choreography fellowship. Etgen has served on the Dance Panel of the Texas Commission on the Arts and Humanities and both have held offices in Regional Dance America/Southwest. They created two useful aids for teachers and dancers: "Ballet is Fun" a video ballet dictionary and graded syllabus and "Turn Board" a tool for learning to turn.

Natalie Skelton Award for Artistic Excellence - Nycole Ray

Nycole Ray is the Artistic Director for Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, marking her sixteenth season as a dancer with Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Nycole is the past director of Bloom, Dallas Black Dance Academy's Performing Ensemble, and was Assistant Rehearsal Director for Dallas Black Dance Theatre.

A Detroit native, Nycole began dancing in high school while attending the Center for Advanced Studies and the Arts. Attending Wayne State University, Ray realized that she wanted to perform. Transferring to The California Institute of the Arts, she graduated with a B.B.A. in dance. Ray's illustrious career includes performing with the Bruce Wood Dance Project, Walt Disney World Entertainment, Christopher and Friends directed by Christopher L. Huggins, Lula Washington Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II and the Zadonu African Dance Company. Ray's choreography has been staged on Wayne State University's Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, and the Milwaukee Dance Connection. A commission to create Le Afrique Masquerade for the Dallas Museum of Arts' The Art of Disguise exhibit of African Masks in 2010 was preceded by a work created for the Dallas Holocaust Museum in 2009.

Larry White Dance Educator Award - Solomon Espie

An Ohio native, Solomon Espie was a successful athlete, graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in physical education. Besides a successful career in academia and business, he taught for the Columbus Public Schools and was an assistant track and field coach at O.S.U.

In 1985, Solomon moved to Dallas where he met his wife Deborah. He soon noticed that his toddler daughter, Elizabeth, loved dancing, so Solomon took ballet lessons at Dallas Black Dance Academy to help her. Little did he know it would be the start of the Lisbon Elementary School "Character Counts" Dance Company. Through his enthusiastic dedication, the Company introduced dance and discipline to young people, some of whom now perform in local dance companies. Over the years, "Character Counts" has performed nationally and across Texas. Solomon spent his summers teaching rhythm and creative movement to special needs children at Camp Thunderbird, and is currently President of the Board of Trustees of ARGA NOVA DANCE/Beckles Dancing Company.

Mary Warner Award for Outstanding Contribution to Dance ~ Sharen Bradford

Sharen Bradford is a dance photographer. For over 35 years photography has been her joy and dance her passion. Born in Longview, Texas, Sharen studied dance with Dottie Hunt and was a member of the Longview High School drill team. She holds B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in Dance from Southern Methodist University.

Her interest in dance photography began when she received a 35mm camera from her father. Sharen discovered her natural ability to capture the dancing image on film. So she studied both disciplines. Bradford helped found Dancers Unlimited Repertory Company, a Dallas modern Dance Company. Sharen was the Executive Director of Allen Street Photography Gallery and taught photography classes for SMU's School of Continuing Education.

She owns The Dancing Image capturing the brilliance of dance of the Aspen-Santa Fe Ballet, Bruce Wood Dance Company/Bruce Wood Dance Project, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, TITAS and more. Her work has appeared in Popular Photography, Dance, Pointe and Dance Spirit magazines, The Dallas Morning News, on the Theater Jones website (theatrejones.com) and in the May 2013 issue of Popular Photography.

Texas Tap Legend - Peggy McCaslin

Celebrating forty-two years of teaching, Peggy McCaslin is a native Texan from Tyler, TX. Growing up loving musical theater and all forms of dance, Peggy began training at age ten at the Ballet Academy. She danced at four Coronations of the Tyler Rose Festival, musicals with the Tyler Civic Theater and Tyler Junior College, and sang at churches and civic organizations.

After receiving a B.F.A. from Texas Christian University in 1972, McCaslin taught at The Wilshire Academy of Dance, directed by Mary Wilcox and Pam Sparks. In 1987, the studio became the Dallas Ballet Center, directed by Brent and Judy Klopfenstein. In 2002, McCaslin established the DBC Tap Connection. As director and choreographer, the Tap Connection has appeared in numerous National Tap Day events and tap festivals, including The Rhythm Junkies' 'Everything On Tap' festival and The Drawbacks Youth Tap Ensemble. Her tap work shines with grace and poise. Judy Klopfenstein writes, "Peggy's choreography is classy, creative, clean and smooth." From five year olds to adults, Peggy's attention to detail makes the difference between good and excellent!