ODC Dancer Mia J. Chong Receives Princess Grace Award

ODC/Dance is pleased to announce that company dancer Mia J. Chong has been honored with a Princess Grace Award in Dance, and will receive the Princess Grace Foundation's prestigious Chris Hellman Dance Award.

The Princess Grace Foundation's Awards for aspiring talent in theater, dance and film are named in honor of Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, who helped aspiring artists pursue their goals throughout Her lifetime. Chong will be presented with this Award in the presence of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, at the annual Princess Grace Awards Gala at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on November 25, 2019. Watch Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom Jr. announce the Princess Grace Award winners here. Each year the Dance Panel recognizes only one dancer with the Chris Hellman Dance Award. This Award represents the panel's high regard for a dancer's work and dedication to dance.

"It is so lovely to see young talent recognized nationally, for which I thank the Princess Grace Foundation," said ODC Founder and Artistic Director Brenda Way. "For the hard won artistic brilliance, I thank Mia."

Brisa Trinchero, CEO of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA shared, "It is such an honor to welcome and celebrate the 2019 Princess Grace Award winners, who represent some of the nation's most outstanding emerging performing artists. These artists, who have been carefully selected by a panel of luminaries in the arts community, will become part of the Princess Grace Awards family and we will look forward to supporting them throughout their artistic journeys."

The Foundation, a public charity formed after the death of Princess Grace in 1982, awards grants, scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships to assist artists with their training. Since 1982, the Foundation has awarded nearly 800 artists with grants totaling over $1 million annually in theater, dance and film.

Mia J. Chong grew up in San Francisco, California. She received scholarships and training from the Kirov Academy of Ballet, the Ailey School, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Sidra Bell Dance New York, the School at Jacob's Pillow, Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and ODC School, where she trained for over a decade. Mia has danced professionally with Robert Moses' KIN Dance Company, Post:Ballet and Dance Theatre of San Francisco. She has been nominated for Isadora Duncan Dance Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Individual Performance, as well as Company Performances. Mia joined ODC/Dance as an apprentice in 2016 and was promoted to company dancer in 2018.

On receiving the Princess Grace Award, Mia says "The Princess Grace Award will amplify my voice and presence to inspire the next generation of dance artists. Every single day, in rehearsal, rest and performance, I focus every aspect of my work on loving and strengthening the intense beauty of uniqueness in others and myself. This award will support this work and my greater aspirations to expose the world to diversity and individuality in art and life. The Princess Grace Award will help me continue to share my unique perspective through meaningful artistic exchange."

About the Princess Grace Foundation - USA The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a non-profit, publicly-supported foundation, headquartered in New York City and founded 37 years ago by Prince Rainier III of Monaco to honor his wife, Princess Grace's [Kelly] legacy. The Foundation's mission is to identify and assist emerging talent in theater, dance and film by awarding grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships. Since its inception the Foundation has given awards to nearly 800 recipients.

Some notable Princess Grace Award Film recipients include: Jon M. Chu, director of "Crazy Rich Asians" and "In the Heights"; Emmy Award winner Cary Fukunaga, director of Bond 25, HBO's "True Detective", Netflix "Maniac" and "Beasts of No Nation"; Greg Mottola director of "Superbad", "Arrested Development", and Amazon's "The Dangerous Book for Boys"; Stephen Hillenburg, creator of "SpongeBob SquarePants". Theater recipients include: Tony Award winner for Best Direction of a Play, Anna D. Shapiro; Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright Tony Kushner; Golden Globe Award winner Oscar Isaac; and Tony Award winning actor Leslie Odom Jr. Dance/Choreography recipients include: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Robert Battle; American Ballet Theatre's Gillian Murphy and Isabella Boylston and New York City Ballet's Tiler Peck; as well as choreographers Camille A. Brown and Michelle Dorrance.

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