Judith R. Fishman Elected New Mark Morris Dance Group Chairman

The Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) is pleased to announce that Judith R. Fishman has been elected Chairman of the Board beginning Saturday, April 1.

David Resnicow, Board Chairman (2009-2017) will become Vice Chair, to serve alongside existing Vice Chairman Mark Selinger.

"The Mark Morris Dance Group has a long tradition of cultural leadership and community engagement globally and locally, both at the Mark Morris Dance Center and across New York City. I'm inspired by the opportunity to support the world's greatest living choreographer and enhance the organization's outstanding education and community programs. I look forward to building on David's and our fellow board members' work in leading this exemplary institution to its next stage of success." said Fishman.

Fishman is an avid supporter of the arts, leading philanthropist and strong advocate for the Brooklyn community. She served as Chairman for the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, spearheading their Living Legacy Plan, and as a member of the board of Brooklyn Botanic Garden and past president of Brooklyn Heights Synagogue. She joined the Mark Morris Dance Group's board in 2012 and has served as a member of its Executive Committee, and Marketing and Public Relations and Fundraising Committees. Fishman is married to Alan H. Fishman, Chairman Emeritus of the Brooklyn Academy Of Music (BAM). Brooklyn has been their home for more than 40 years.

"It's with great pleasure we make this announcement. Judith has been a stalwart supporter of Mark's work for many years. It is a tremendous complement to the company's far-ranging work to have her leadership as Board Chairman." said Nancy Umanoff, Mark Morris Dance Group Executive Director.

"We are excited to gain Judith's breadth of experience, particularly as we look to the 40th anniversary of the company in 2020 and with long-term creative and capital projects ahead." said Resnicow.

Fishman will lead the Mark Morris Dance Group's board which represents a broad range of talent and expertise from various regions:

Judith R. Fishman, Chairman
Owner, Rose Displays
Brooklyn, NY

Mark Selinger, Vice Chairman
Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
Scarsdale, NY

David Resnicow, Vice Chairman
President, Resnicow + Associates
New York, NY

Isaac Mizrahi, Secretary
Designer/Performer
New York, NY

Sarabeth Berman
Vice President of Public Affairs, Teach For All
Washington, D.C.

Frederick Bland
Managing Partner, Beyer Blinder Belle, LLC
Brooklyn, NY

Allan Bufferd
Partner & Executive Chairman,
Family Endowment Partners, LP.
Newtonville, MA

Margaret Conklin
Managing Director, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
New York, NY

Suzy Kellems Dominik
Artist
San Francisco, CA

Shelby Gans
Community Volunteer
San Francisco, CA

Jennifer Goodale
Program Director,
Jerome L. Greene Foundation
New York, NY

Sandy Hill
Author/Athlete
Barcelona, Spain

Timothy J. McClimon
President, American Express Foundation
New York, NY

Helen Meyer
Executive VP, Meyer Sound Laboratory
Berkeley, CA

Mark Morris
Artistic Director, Mark Morris Dance Group
New York, NY

Ellen Offner
Principal, Offner Consulting LLC
Newton, MA

Jane Stine
Co-Chair, Parachute Publishing
New York, NY

Nancy Umanoff
President and Executive Director,
Mark Morris Dance Group
Queens, NY

Mark Morris has been hailed as the "the most successful and influential choreographer alive, and indisputably the most musical." (The New York Times). In addition to creating over 150 works for the Mark Morris Dance Group, he conducts orchestras, directs opera, and choreographs for ballet companies worldwide. Morris' work is acclaimed for its ingenuity, musicality, wit, and humanity. Named a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation in 1991, he has received eleven honorary doctorates to date, and a multitude of awards, including the Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society, the Benjamin Franklin Laureate Prize for Creativity, the Cal Performances Award of Distinction in the Performing Arts, the Orchestra of St. Luke's Gift of Music Award, and the 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award. In 2015, Morris was inducted to the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Formed in 1980, Morris' internationally-renowned Mark Morris Dance Group has received "highest praise for their technical aplomb, their musicality, and their sheer human authenticity." (Bloomberg News). Live music and community engagement are vital components of the Dance Group. It has toured with its own musicians, the MMDG Music Ensemble, since 1996, and regularly collaborates with orchestras and opera companies around the world. MMDG's film and television projects include Dido and Aeneas, The Hard Nut, Falling Down Stairs, the U.K.'s South Bank Show, and Live from Lincoln Center. In 2015 Morris' signature work L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato premiered on PBS' Great Performances.

The Mark Morris Dance Center was opened in 2001 to provide a home for the Dance Group, rehearsal space for the dance community, programs for local children and seniors, and dance classes for students of all ages and abilities. The Dance Center and its programs serve 17,000 people each year both on-site and off-site in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx.