Lauren Anderson to Host 3rd Annual FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA, 2/13/16

(West Palm Beach, FL - September 29, 2015) Mauricio Cañete, founder and director of MC Dance Productions, today announced that the highly acclaimed Lauren Anderson, the first African American to be promoted to principal dancer at Houston Ballet, will host the third annual FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA that will be held at the Duncan Theatre, located on the Lake Worth campus of Palm Beach State College, on Saturday, February 13, at 7:30 p.m. Ms. Anderson will also teach a Master Class on the stage for participating young dancers from leading dance academies throughout the state.

"To have a dancer with her award-winning reputation agree to host the next FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA is a big, big deal in the ballet world and a tremendous learning opportunity for our talented young dancers," said Cañete, who used to dance alongside Ms. Anderson during his years as a dancer at Houston Ballet.

About Lauren Anderson:

Lauren Anderson danced with Houston Ballet from 1983 to 2006, performing leading roles in all the great classical ballets, appearing across the world to critical acclaim. In 1990, she became the first African-American to be promoted to principal dancer at Houston Ballet, and one of the few black ballerinas at the head of a major ballet company anywhere in the world.

Ms. Anderson danced leading roles in most of the classics. She created the title role in Ben Stevenson's Cleopatra, and her performance as Cleopatra received accolades from international critics. Anna Kisselgoff, dance critic for The New York Times compared her to the great Italian actress Eleanora Duse, and Christine Temin of The Boston Globe pronounced her "a powerhouse in interpreting the role that Stevenson created on her." Ms. Anderson performed across the globe as a guest artist.

In 1990, Ms. Anderson received The Special Jury Award in the USA International Ballet Competition and in 1996, the International Critics award in Chile. In April 1999, she was featured on the cover ofDance Magazine. She's been featured in the People magazine and Pointe, as well as on the television programs "A&E Breakfast with the Arts," "CBS News Sunday Morning," and the game show, "To Tell the Truth." She has been honored by The Martin Luther King Foundation, Coalition of 100 Black Women, YWCA, by the Urban League, Asian Chamber of Commerce, Delta Gamma Foundation, Texas Woman's Chamber of Commerce, National Council of Jewish Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Houston City Council, Texas Legislature, and the United States Congress and the list goes on. In 2007, she assumed her new role of Artistic Outreach Associate in Houston Ballet's education department where she teaches ballet classes at Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy, conducts master classes at area schools, and lectures to students on dance and her historic career.

Ms. Anderson was a member of the 2014 International Dance School held in conjunction with the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS, and next year she will be permanent exhibit in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

About the FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA 2016:

Following this year's sold-out success and once again sponsored by Só Dança USA, a leading provider of quality dance supplies, FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA 2016 will feature 40 extraordinarily talented in a romantic, high-stepping salute to Valentine's Day.

Dedicated to "celebrating and gathering talented dancers" from all over the state, the FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA will "showcase new choreography, finalists from major dance competitions and some electrifying young dancers, resulting in one of the most memorable dance event of the coming season," said Cañete, a former dancer with Houston Ballet, Ballet Florida and Ballet Eloelle, who has wowed audiences in England, Russia, Hong Kong, Canada, Austria, Germany, Japan, China and all over the Far East.

"My goal is to give the next generation of dancers the opportunity to perform in a professional environment. In fact, we have already confirmed participation of dance academies in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Brandon, Fort Myers, Hallandale Beach, Jacksonville, Jupiter, Miami, Oakland Park, Orlando, Palm Beach Gardens, Port St. Lucie, Sarasota, Tampa and West Palm Beach."

What is most gratifying to Cañete - not only as a dancer but as producer of the annual FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA - is that so many of his participating dancers have already gone on to major dance schools around the world: Francisco Serrano from Sarasota Cuban Ballet School went to The Royal Ballet School in London; Aran Bell from The Arts of Classical Ballet went to the American Ballet Theater Studio Company in New York; Tatiana Melendez from All American Classical Ballet,Madison Russo from Ballet East and Carina Castaneda from Boca Ballet Theatre, all went to Houston Ballet Academy; and from the School of Ballet Arts, Victoria Volpe went to New York's School of American Ballet and Daniela O'Neil went to the Pre-Professional Program at Pittsburg Ballet Theatre.

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