Photo Flash: Actress Colby Christina Receives BAM Samuel H. Scripps Award

On Friday, May 25, 2018 - Colby Christina 16 year old Teen Sensation received the coveted Brooklyn Academy Of Music (BAM) Samuel H. Scripps Award during the Opening Night performance of the 41st year of DANCE AFRICA.

The Samuel H. Scripps BAM Scholarship Fund was launched in 2008. The fund supports Post-Secondary Education and was established to benefit students who have participated in BAM's Arts Education programs. Every year, BAM awards Two and Four Year scholarships to support select students pursuing degrees in the Performing Arts or Arts Administration with a focus on Dance and Theater.

About: Colby Christina - Colby Christina (born May 29, 2001) is a American professional Actor, TV Show Host, Singer, Dancer, Model, Choreographer, Mentor, Instructor & Advocate born in Manhasset, New York. Colby has trained professionally since the age of two at the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Center for Arts & Culture & at other locations. Colby has been labeled a formidable "Triple Threat" Nationally & Internationally. She credits Peggy Alston, the Emeritus Director of the Restoration Center for Arts & Culture with being the very first Triple Threat she ever met in a formal setting who ignited a spark in her. Colby is now an Alumna of the school & carries the title in perpetuity of "Restoration Center for Arts and Culture Student Ambassador" that was bestowed upon her at the age of 11 for her voluminous groundbreaking accomplishments that continue today.

To her credit Colby Christina has accomplished many "first" in the Arts & in Academia & is the recipient of more than 150 Awards, Citations, Proclamations & Honors, a considerable amount of them before the age of 13.

Colby has been honored twice, with the NAACP "Legacy Award" & prior to that received the NAACP "Youth Award", was honored by the King of Kings Foundation with the "Colby Christina A Star Has Risen Award" (This Award Will Be Given Annually & has Been Officially Named the Colby Christina a Star Has Risen Award), honored by the Trey Whitfield School Foundation as a "Academic Honoree" & Colby was Honored by the Young, Gifted & Black Corporation with the "Nina Simone Entrepreneurship & Creativity Award", to name a few.

There was also a New York State Senate Resolution (J893) issued on the New York State Senate floor in her honor in her name on March 3, 2017.

Her accomplishments to date have catapulted her to the National Stage at the National Black Theatre Festival as the Celebrity Teen Co-Chair and Parade Grand Marshall in 2015 & 2017, as well as to the Red Carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival as a Guest at the Oprah Winfrey Premiere of Greenleaf on the OWN TV Network.

Colby Christina has performed Center Stage at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music as a Feature Performer in Dance Africa with Emeritus Artistic Director and Founder, Dr. Baba Charles "Chuck" Davis and Artistic Director, Abdel Salaam, the Billie Holiday Theatre, the Museum of Natural History, the Waldorf Astoria New York and Black Spectrum Theatre to name a few. Prior to the "Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills" written by Cheryl Wills, NY 1 News Anchor, where Colby played "Emma Wills" & received a standing ovation for a one of a kind performance where she spoke no words, Colby also 0 Role of "Alice" at the age of 12 to sold out audiences in the Stage to TV Production, "The Liberation of Mother Goose", in the Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, New York with Emeritus Theatre Director, Marjorie Moon written by Aduke Aremu, Executive Producer/Director, Peggy Alston, Musical Director, Mario Sprouse and Director & Choreographer Abdel Salaam.

Colby recently appeared as a Feature Performer in Dance Africa 2018 as a BAM/DANCE AFRICA "Spirit Walker". (Since the inception 3 years ago by DANCE AFRICA Artistic Director Abdel Salaam, Colby is the youngest Spirit Walker at age 16)

The evening was full of cheer with the Annual Dance Africa Celebratory Opening Night Party and acknowledgement of Colby & the other BAM SCRIPPS AWARD Recipients at BAM's Lepercq Space.

About: Samuel H. Scripps: (October 30, 1927 - February 16, 2007) was a patron of the Arts and played a significant role in gaining support and recognition for Theatre & Dance companies throughout America in the second half of the Twentieth Century.

About: BAM: The Brooklyn Academy Of Music (BAM) is a Performing Arts venue in Brooklyn, New York, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in 1908. Today, BAM has a reputation as a leader in presenting "cutting edge" performance and has grown into an Urban Arts Center which focuses on both International Arts presentation and local community needs. Its purpose is to provide an environment in which its audiences - annually, more than 775,000 people - can experience a broad array of aesthetic and cultural programs. From 1999 to 2015, BAM was headed by Karen Brooks Hopkins, President and Joseph V. Melillo, Executive Producer from 1999 to 12/2018. BAM President, Katy Clark and Board of Directors Member, Robert Feldman, Esq., gleefully presented COLBY with this well deserved Scripps Award honor on Stage. BAM Emeritus President Karen Brooks Hopkins who retired in Spring 2015 & soon to be Emeritus Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo witnessed major portions of the 14+ years of COLBY'S BAM Workshop/ DANCE AFRICA participation and career to date.

ABOUT DANCE AFRICA: Dance Africa is a heritage and community celebration centered on the diverse dance forms of the African Diaspora held annually in New York City, Washington, DC and Chicago. Included are indoor and outdoor performances including Live Music, a Film Series, Master Classes, Education Programs and an Outdoor Bazaar.

ABOUT BABA CHUCK DAVIS: The DANCE AFRICA Founder and Emeritus Artistic Director, Dr. Baba Charles "Chuck " Davis (January 1, 1937 to May 14, 2017) created Dance Africa in 1977 and 40+ years later it will forever remain the world renowned premier African Dance event that takes place at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music annually during Memorial Day weekend. Affectionately known as "Baba Chuck", he is regarded as America's foremost Master of African Dance and revered around the world having traveled to Africa more than 50 times.

ABOUT Colby Christina: Colby is also kicking off her Summer 2018 by appearing in a triple threat performance as Josephine Baker in "Josephine's Cotton - the Revue", opening Sunday, June 3, 2018 at the Arias Theater in New York City with additional show times and she will also be working on a few Film Projects starting with "Rhapsody in Justice" the Docudrama Musical Comedy by Writer, Producer, Director Anthony Dixon via his Production Company Paper to Pen.

After applying and being accepted to several of the Top Performing Arts Colleges/Universities in the United States, Colby Christina narrowed it down to one school and is now a member of the Class of 2022 as a Theater and Dance Major and she repeats her motto and affirms that she will continue to "Think Big, Dream Big and Soar"!

Colby Christina At Dance Africa With Artistic Director Baba Abdel Salaam. (2017)

Colby Christina Through The Years With The Founder And Emeritus Director Of Dance Africa, Baba Dr. Charles "Chuck" Davis. (2003-2016)

Colby Christina At Dance Africa 2018 With The Brooklyn Academy Of Music President, Katy Clark At The Dance Africa Opening Night Celebration and Celebrating Colby's Receipt Of The 2018 BAM Samuel H. Scripps Scholarship.

Colby Christina, Restoration Center For Arts & Culture Student Ambassador With Her Mentor, Restoration Center For Arts And Culture Emeritus Director, Ms. Peggy Alston
Colby Christina With Her Dance Africa 'Grandfather' Role Model And Mentor. The World Renowned Dr. Baba Charles "Chuck" Davis
Colby Christina With The Dance Africa Production Stage Managers: N'goma Woolbright And Normadien Woolbright