Hartt Dance Founder Enid Lynn Receives Fuller Medal

he Hartt School Board of Trustees Co-Chair Michael Menapace, Hartt Dance Division Director Stephen Pier, and Hartt School Interim Dean T. Clark Saunders, awarded the Fuller Medal to Enid Lynn, founder of the Hartt Dance Division and co-founder of the Hartford Ballet. The Fuller Medal, the highest award conveyed by The Hartt School, is awarded to those who have shown exemplary vision and leadership within the performing arts. Lynn was presented with the award prior to the Friday evening "Hartt Dances" performance before a near sold-out crowd, in recognition of her invaluable contributions to dance education in Hartford.

"Friday evening's event was an emotional gathering of friends of dance from the days of the Hartford Ballet along with so many former colleagues and students," said Lynn. "I was so touched to have them present when I received this incredible tribute from the Hartt School, an honor I share with so many collaborators over a thirty plus year history. Nothing could have been more rewarding than to see that dance, to which I devoted so much of my life in Hartford, is alive, well and thriving at Hartt."

The performance of "Hartt Dances" featured former student, Hartt Alumni Award winner, and internationally performing dancer Eran Bugge. A current member of the world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company, Bugge danced the role The Woman In Yellow from Martha Graham's "Diversion of Angels," which she recently performed at Lincoln Center's David Koch Theater in New York City.

"It was such an honor to perform for this special evening celebrating Enid, and a wonderful trip down memory lane to share the stage with the Hartt School dancers again," said Bugge. "The training they are receiving continues to be top notch, and their energy and presence was a inspiration. I couldn't be prouder to call the Hartt School my home."

Enid Lynn was Director of the School of Hartford Ballet from 1971 through 1999; during that time the School advanced to become one of the premier dance institutions in the country, most notably for the Dance Program for City Youth, a scholarship program for talented Hartford children, and the dance degree program with The Hartt School of the University of Hartford. In 1994 she was appointed Director of the Dance Division of The Hartt School. Through her leadership, the School of Hartford Ballet was the first dance school to receive U.S. Department of Education recognized accreditation and was consistently recognized as one of the top 10 professional studio schools

The Hartt Dance Division was founded in 1994 by Lynn and Peggy Lyman Hayes as an extension of the School of the Hartford Ballet. The recently established Enid Lynn Endowed Scholarship for Dance honors Lynn's groundbreaking work and inspiring career by providing scholarships for Hartt dance students who have financial need or who exhibit exceptional talent. Dancers that studied under her have gone on to work for preeminent companies such as American Ballet Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Dance Theater of Harlem, the Royal Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and the New York City Ballet.