Dallas Black Dance Theatre's Fundraising Event to Pay Tribute to Late Country Music Icon

Dallas Black Dance Theatre's (DBDT) annual fundraising event, The BIG Dance, features a Boot Scootin' Boogie: Hometown Salute to Charley Pride, the late country music icon honored with the 2020 CMA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre celebrates the closing of its 45th Anniversary Season with a city-wide dance party worthy of the Big D. Festivities take place on Saturday, June 4, 2022, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. Dallas, TX. 75201. The attire for the evening is Diamonds and Boots.

The evening will be an unforgettable night of Country Western flair, including a live concert and video tribute. Dion Pride pays tribute to his father with Dallas Black Dance Theatre dancers performing. The live tribute concert showcases, Janie Fricke, two-time CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year.

After the concert, enjoy a non-stop dance party to the sounds of the Breckenridge Band and fiddle duo June Blount, as well as dance lessons, food, and drinks. Both groups are from North Texas. You can also experience the festivities virtually.

The fundraiser benefits Dallas Black Dance Academy's Education and Outreach programs. The Academy produced the first Presidential Scholar in dance in America. Nine other Presidential Scholars who graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts trained at Dallas Black Dance Academy. Four Academy students have received full scholarships to the prestigious dance program at The Juilliard School. 100% of Dallas Black Dance Academy students have graduated from high school and attended college since 2012.

Honorary Co-chairs Mrs. Rozene Pride and Grace Cook, and Co-chairs Helen Giddings and Sheena Payne, planned the event. The BIG Dance committee includes Jim Austin, Ivy Awino, Chris Banjo & Jasmine Banjo, Bridget Biagas, Angela Chapman, Teresa Coleman Wash, Mark D. Cooks, Marie Diaz, Dr. and Mrs. William Frazier, Marena & Roger Gault, Arthur & Gwen George, Laura Harris, Misty Hoyt, Sharon K. King, Kevin K. Lewis, Larry Lundy, Kim Noltemy, Maxine Pride, Willow Sanchez & Peter Lewis, Kymberley Scalia, Michelle Sherman, Don Short, Michelle Thomas, Linda & Frederick D. Todd II, Paulette Turner, Phyllis Walker, Dr. and Mrs. Myron Watkins, Carla Wattley-Bradley, Kim Whitaker, Ann Williams, Michelle Wong, and Freda Wright.

For more details visit www.dallasbigdance.com

CONCERT SPONSOR

Friends of Dallas Black Dance Academy

DINNER & PRE-EVENT COCKTAIL RECEPTION SPONSOR

The David M. Cowley Foundation

2022 | The BIG Dance Sponsors

HALL Wines, HALL Group, Anheuser-Busch, New Artisan Spirits, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Curtis Ransom.

2022 | The BIG Dance Media Sponsors

NBC 5, Texas Metro News, The Dallas Morning News, Texas Metro News, DART, The Dallas Weekly, FYI-50+, The Dallas Examiner, The Dallas Post Tribune, Trendy Africa.

ABOUT DALLAS BLACK DANCE THEATRE:

Founded in 1976 by Ann Williams, Dallas Black Dance Theatre's mission is to create and produce contemporary modern dance at the highest level of artistic excellence through performances and educational programs that bridge cultures and reach diverse communities. As the largest and oldest professional dance company in Dallas, DBDT is the fourth-largest Black dance company in the nation, the ninth-largest contemporary modern dance company, and ranked 42nd among the nation's leading ballet companies.

Located in the thriving downtown Dallas Arts District, DBDT has performed worldwide for over 4.5 million arts patrons and 2.7 million students in 31 states and 16 countries on five continents. The performances include two Olympics (1996 & 2012), the nation's most prestigious venues (Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Broadway, Jacob's Pillow), and for such luminaries as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and South African President Nelson Mandela. Since the pandemic began in 2020, DBDT performances have also been viewed virtually in over 30 countries. The Company has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpiece Touring Artist (2008) and received the Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Arts Education (2017).

For more details about Dallas Black Dance Theatre visit www.DBDT.com.

Pictured: Charley and Rozene Pride