Joyce Theater Will Honor David Herro and Jay Franke at 2014 Spring Gala, 4/22

Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater Foundation, has announced that for its 2014 Spring Gala, the organization will honor David Herro and Jay Franke for their extraordinary support of American dance and, especially, arts education. The Joyce's Gala will take place on the Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center on Tuesday April 22 at 6pm. The black-tie event, celebrating The Joyce's commitment to arts education, will include cocktails, dinner, dancing and special performances by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Jessica Lang Dance, doug elkins choreography Etc., Momix and the talented young performers of Dancing Classrooms Youth Dance Company. Tickets and tables for the Gala can be purchased online at Joyce.org or by calling (646) 467-8556.

This year's Spring Gala will serve as a kick-off to The Joyce Theater's presentation of the highly anticipated New York premiere of Ballet Preljocaj's magnificent production of Snow White, choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj and featuring costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier. Performances begin on Wednesday, April 23 and play through Sunday, April 27 at The David H. Koch Theater. Tickets for Snow White can be purchased online at www.davidhkochtheater.com/events or by calling (212)-496-0600.

In selecting honorees David Herro and Jay Franke, Joyce Theater Executive Director Linda Shelton said, "The Joyce's connection with Jay and David dates back to 2003 when Jay danced at the Theater with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Since then, David and Jay's passion for dance reaches well beyond the Windy City. We are especially delighted to celebrate their generous support of arts education and look forward to a long relationship with them."

David Herro and Jay Franke are committed to a wide variety of civic and charitable activities, with a focus on education, dance, children and humanities. David Herro has served as the Treasurer of Chicago Dancing Festival, on the Board of Directors for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Foundation, as a Board member for the Field Museum, as a trustee of WTTW, on the Advisory Board of After School Matters, on the Board of Directors for the Economic Club of Chicago and previously on the finance committee of Human Rights Watch and on the Advisory Board for Dreams for Kids. Jay Franke serves on the Cultural Advisory Council for the City of Chicago, on the Board of Directors for ChiArts, on the Board of Trustees for the MCA and previously on the Board of the Joffrey Ballet. Together, they have donated significantly to cultural organizations, including the Field Museum, Chicago Dance Festival, Steppenwolf Theater, After School Matters, the Illinois Humanities Council, The Art Institute of Chicago, 92nd Street Y, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago High School for the Arts, Learn Charter Schools, Chicago Dancemakers Forum, A Better Chicago, Danceworks Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet.

Jay Franke is an accomplished professional dancer, and Co-Artistic Director of Chicago Dancing Festival. A native of Oklahoma, Franke graduated from the Juliliard School and has danced with highly regarded dance companies such as the Twyla Tharp Dance Company (NYC), The 58 Group, Lyric Opera Ballet Chicago (Chicago), Hubbard Street Dance Company (Chicago), and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Franke and Chicago native Lar Lubovitch created the Chicago Dance Festival to promote the finest of dance to Chicago audiences for free. He continued to juggle professional dancing in Lubovitch's dance company while serving as Co-Artistic Director and four years ago made the decision to retire as a dancer and focus his attention full time to the festival. Franke is one of the founding members of Kovler Diabetes Center's Leadership Board. His philanthropic generosity has resulted in Kovler expanding community presence impacting the Chicago community, care for patients living with diabetes and research efforts.

David Herro. David Herro is the Chief Investment Officer-International Equities at Harris Associates L.P. and serves as the Portfolio Manager of The Oakmark International Fund, The Oakmark International Small Cap Fund, and The Oakmark Global Select Fund. He was named Morningstar's International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year for 2006*; and, International-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade for 2000-2009. David has been managing international portfolios since 1986, previously managing international portfolios for The State of Wisconsin Investment Board and The Principal Financial Group. David, who joined Harris Associates in 1992, holds a B.S. in Business and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (1983) and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1985). He is a CFA charterholder.

Co-chairs of The Joyce Theater's 2014 Spring Gala are Paige Royer & J. Kerry Clayton and Michèle & Steve Pesner.

The Joyce Theater's Board of Trustees includes Chairman J. Kerry Clayton, Vice Chairman Steve M. Pesner, Secretary Anh-Tuyet Nguyen, Treasurer Stephanie R. Breslow, Chair Emeritus David D. Holbrook, Chair Emeritus Stephen D. Weinroth, R. Richard Ablon, Gerald M. Appelstein, Rob Ashford, Theodore S. Bartwink, Ajay Bhandaram, Torrence S. Boone, Stephanie R. Breslow, R. Britton Fisher, Jane E. Goldberg, Nina Wiener Gross, Ronald Gumbaz, James H. Herbert, II, Toni Hoover, Virginia A. Millhiser, Dr. Meryl Rosofsky, Saul Sanders, Linda Shelton, Susan Fawcett Sosin, Alex Stanton, and Amit Wadhwaney.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences for three decades. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce Theater is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant home for more than 320 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 1996, The Joyce created Joyce SoHo, a dance center providing highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of dance artists, as well as special residency opportunities for selected choreographers to support the creation of new work. In 2009, The Joyce opened Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios to provide affordable studios for rehearsals, auditions, classes, and workshops for independent choreographers, non-profit dance companies, and the dance/theater communities. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through informative Dance Talks, and post-performance Dance Chat discussions. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.

The 2014 Joyce Theater Gala, honoring arts supporters David Herro and Jay Franke with performances by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Jessica Lang Dance, doug elkins choreography Etc., Momix and the talented, inpsiring young performers of Dancing Classrooms Youth Dance Company, will take place on Tuesday, April 22 at 6pm on the promenade of the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center.For reservations to this black-tie event, please visit www.joyce.org or call (646) 467-8556. For more information, please visit www.joyce.org.