Chicago Community Trust, CEO Terry Mazany to Receive Chicago Human Rhythm Project's 2017 JUBA! Award

Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP), which creates community through American tap and contemporary percussive arts in world-class, innovative performance, education and outreach programs, hosts its 27th Jubalee Gala.

CHRP honors The Chicago Community Trust and its President and CEO Terry Mazany with its JUBA! Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Cultural Community in Chicago. Past JUBA! Award recipient, the Honorable Mayor Rahm Emanuel, serves as Honorary Chair. The event takes place Friday, July 21 at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a preshow reception in CHRP's American Rhythm Center and Curtiss Hall. Guests will gather in the Studebaker Theater at 7:30 p.m. for the presentation of the JUBA! Award and the JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance performance that highlights CHRP's 27th annual Rhythm World summer festival. The concert features a world premiere by CHRP's new Artist in Residence, Dani Borak; solo performances by former CHRP Tap Scholars Jumaane Taylor and former CHRP ensemble member Tristan Bruns; STOMP alumna and Broadway hoofer (Shuffle Along) Lisa LaTouche; and members of percussive dance ensembles featured in CHRP's citywide festival STOMPING GROUNDS, including Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Muntu Dance Theatre and Trinity Irish Dance Company. A VIP champagne reception onstage with the artists follows the performance.

"The Trust was the first foundation in Chicago to provide salary support for administration and artistic leadership, which allowed us to grow from an annual festival of American tap into the first, year-round presenter of contemporary percussive arts serving tens of thousands of children, teens, adults and elders every year," said CHRP Founder and Director Lane Alexander. "CHRP was part of the first cohort of SMART Growth recipients, which laid a foundation for organizational development that, for the past 12 years, has improved our ability to present authentically diverse performances in neighborhoods throughout Chicago; education programs in Chicago Public Schools that teach percussive arts, tolerance, math skills and history; and to continually refine our community activating programs designed to foster long-term relationships between individuals and communities upon which a more tolerant and peaceful society can be built.

"In 2012, the Trust provided a seminal investment in a one-year community-building collaboration with the DuSable Museum of African American History that has since evolved into an annual, citywide festival known as STOMPING GROUNDS, which takes place at the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Garfield Park Conservatory, DuSable, the Irish American Heritage Center, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Beverly Arts Center, dozens of Chicago Public Schools and more. This program has been recognized by the Chicago Free for All Fund at The Chicago Community Trust, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for the City of Chicago, the Saints and a lead gift by Joyce Chelberg, among others. Thanks to the Trust's initial investment, this program now serves almost 10,000 people annually."

Proceeds from this year's Jubalee support year-round performance programs, CHRP's summer Tap Scholar program, which provides scholarships to deserving, talented teens and enables them to study tap and percussive arts with world-class artists, as well as free, rhythm-based arts education programs in Chicago Public Schools.

JUBA! Awards

Terry Mazany is President and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation's leading community foundations, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. With assets of more than $2.5 billion, the Trust partners with donors to distribute more than $150 million annually. The Trust selected Mazany as the sixth executive in its 100-year history in 2004. In 2011, he also served as the interim chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools. He is also chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board and principal investigator for the CAPriCORN CDRN, network member of PCORnet. He was a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Prior to his work in philanthropy, Mazany enjoyed earlier careers in public education, archaeology and dendrochronology and has degrees in anthropology, business and education. He has also been awarded Honorary Doctorate degrees from DePaul University and Lewis University.

Past JUBA! Award recipients include Tommy Tune, Gregory Hines, Bill Irwin, Savion Glover, Fayard Nicholas, Maurice Hines, Michelle Dorrance, Nicholas Young, Luke Cresswell, American Airlines, TARGET, Richard G. Weinberg, Elaine Cohen, Mayor and Mrs. Richard M. Daley, Ted and Susan Oppenheimer, Bill Kurtis and Donna LaPietra, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Patti Eylar and Charles Gardner and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance

Guests will enjoy a performance by some of the country's leading masters of tap and percussive dance, including a world premiere by CHRP's new Artist in Residence, Dani Borak; solo performances by former Tap Scholars Jumaane Taylor and former CHRP ensemble member Tristan Bruns; STOMP alumna and Broadway hoofer (Shuffle Along) Lisa LaTouche; and members of percussive dance ensembles featured in CHRP's citywide festival STOMPING GROUNDS, including Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Muntu Dance Theatre and Trinity Irish Dance Company.

The Story of JUBA

William Henry Lane was the first African American allowed to perform with white minstrel dancers in the 1840s. Lane and an Irishman named John Diamond were promoted in a series of staged tap dance competitions throughout the United States, and Lane won the huge majority. He went on to give command performances before the crowned heads of Europe and was proclaimed the greatest dancer of all time by American and European critics alike. He received the appellation "Juba"-master of all dancers. Juba (also spelled giuba) is a river/valley/city in Somalia/Ethiopia/Sudan. It is also a word in Swahili/Zulu/Italian with meanings as varied as "king" and "dove." A juba was also a dance that slaves created featuring hand clapping and foot stomping, referred to as "patting the juba."

The JUBA! Award

William Henry Lane faced crushing prejudice in a country divided by slavery, yet he was able to accomplish, excel and win. Lane's life is a testament to people's ability to overcome all obstacles, excel despite adversity and affect change through acts of personal courage and fortitude. This award acknowledges those who personify these characteristics through their support of the art of tap dance.

Tickets to CHRP's Jubalee Gala, including the JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance performance, are $225-250.To purchase tickets or tables, or for information about sponsorships, call 312-542-2477, write to info@chicagotap.org or visit chicagotap.org.

Chicago Human Rhythm Project, which believes tap is to dance what jazz is to music-an American contribution to global culture-has been presenting American tap and global percussive dance for almost 30 years, evolving from a summer tap festival into the world's first, year-round presenter dedicated to foot-drumming and contemporary rhythmic expression. Central to CHRP's performance, education and community activating programs is its mission to build bridges between individuals and communities through the practice and appreciation of rhythm. Whether as part of the oldest and largest tap festival on the globe, Rhythm World; the collaborative citywide percussive dance festival, STOMPING GROUNDS; year-round education programs in Chicago Public Schools, We All Got Rhythm; or its shared dance/arts incubator, the American Rhythm Center (ARC), CHRP focuses on artistic excellence, innovation, authentic diversity and cultural pluralism. CHRP received an Emmy nomination for its PBS-ITVS documentary JUBA! Master of Tap and Percussive Dance; curated the first-ever full-length tap concert in a major theater at the Kennedy Center; has officially represented the U.S. in dance festivals in South America, Asia and Europe; and has been lauded as a pioneer in the field by the New York Times. Past students receiving great acclaim include, among many others, MacArthur "Genius" Michelle Dorrance, Broadway hoofers Karissa Royster and Lee Howard and Jazz at Lincoln Center soloist Jared Grimes. For information, visit chicagotap.org.

Pictured: Terry Mazany courtesy of The Chicago Community Trust.