New York State Dance Education Awards
Congratulations to the 2023 NYSDEA Award Recipients!
Lifetime Impact in Dance Education Award - Naomi Goldberg Haas
NAOMI GOLDBERG HAAS is the founding artistic director of Dances for a Variable Population (DVP) since 2009, a multigenerational dance company and educational organization committed to promoting strong and creative movement among older adults of all abilities, enabling them to build creativity, improve their mental and physical health, strengthen social connections and enhance their quality of life. DVP’s model of community creative aging education program MOVEMENT SPEAKS® annually serves over 2,500 older adults in NYC and is a model in best practices for creative aging in community-based performance and education programs for older adults. Through classes, dance workshops and performances, using the power of dance, we build community, creating lively, fun and beautifully executed theatrical dance with diverse individuals and professional dancers.
Goldberg Haas has been a leader in the field of Creative Aging, starting with founding the successful intergenerational and mixed ability dance company, Los Angeles Modern Dance & Ballet (1990- 2004). She danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet, a BA from Barnard College and holds an MFA from Tisch Dance/NYU. Goldberg Haas received Gibney ART + ACTION award (2011), LMCC President’s Award for Performing Arts (2014), served on the Age Friendly Media, Arts & Culture Working Group (2015–2018) and received the DANCE USA 2019–20 Fellowship for Artists addressing Social Change.
NAOMI GOLDBERG HAAS is the founding artistic director of Dances for a Variable Population (DVP) since 2009, a multigenerational dance company and educational organization committed to promoting strong and creative movement among older adults of all abilities, enabling them to build creativity, improve their mental and physical health, strengthen social connections and enhance their quality of life. DVP’s model of community creative aging education program MOVEMENT SPEAKS® annually serves over 2,500 older adults in NYC and is a model in best practices for creative aging in community-based performance and education programs for older adults. Through classes, dance workshops and performances, using the power of dance, we build community, creating lively, fun and beautifully executed theatrical dance with diverse individuals and professional dancers.
Goldberg Haas has been a leader in the field of Creative Aging, starting with founding the successful intergenerational and mixed ability dance company, Los Angeles Modern Dance & Ballet (1990- 2004). She danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet, a BA from Barnard College and holds an MFA from Tisch Dance/NYU. Goldberg Haas received Gibney ART + ACTION award (2011), LMCC President’s Award for Performing Arts (2014), served on the Age Friendly Media, Arts & Culture Working Group (2015–2018) and received the DANCE USA 2019–20 Fellowship for Artists addressing Social Change.
Lifetime Achievement Award - Joy Guarino
Joy Guarino is the Director of Global Engagement and a Professor of Dance at SUNY Buffalo State University, coordinating experiences that bring creative curricula and engaging opportunities to benefit faculty, staff, students, and local, national, and international community organizations with the goal of forming meaningful partnerships and collaborations. She has presented her research on kinesthetic learning, global learning for all, service-learning, and civic-engagement nationally and internationally. Joy views international experiences as a pathway to cultural awareness, civic engagement, and mutual respect. She embeds local and international service-learning partnerships into the curriculum and has led numerous short-term study abroad experiences.
Joy Guarino is the Director of Global Engagement and a Professor of Dance at SUNY Buffalo State University, coordinating experiences that bring creative curricula and engaging opportunities to benefit faculty, staff, students, and local, national, and international community organizations with the goal of forming meaningful partnerships and collaborations. She has presented her research on kinesthetic learning, global learning for all, service-learning, and civic-engagement nationally and internationally. Joy views international experiences as a pathway to cultural awareness, civic engagement, and mutual respect. She embeds local and international service-learning partnerships into the curriculum and has led numerous short-term study abroad experiences.
Outstanding Dance Education Researcher Award - Omonike Akinyemi
Omonike Akinyemi is a dancer/choreographer/film-maker who uses movement to tell stories. Period. She holds an MFA in film production from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. A two-time award winning fellow in Screenwriting and Film-making of the New York Foundation for the Arts, Omonike’s 2000 film, “Nelly’s Bodega”, drew upon her dance research into Yoruba culture from Southwestern Nigeria and Cuba and was screened at numerous international events including the Cannes Film Festival, Festivale Cinema Delle Donne, Femi Festival of Guadeloupe, and on television with PBS. Omonike teaches dance with Image Quilt Dance Theater. She is the founding
teacher of the dance program at Albany High School where she developed a program involving modern dance, classical ballet, Afro-Caribbean dance, flamenco, and stage combat. Omonike choreographed original dance works based on the lives of historical figures such as the Chevalier de Saint George which allowed dance and classical music students to collaborate.
She has also re-staged the works of modern dance choreographers Manuel Alum, Tina Ramirez, and Charles Moore on her students, involving them in research and study of dance history as they learn choreography.
Omonike Akinyemi is a dancer/choreographer/film-maker who uses movement to tell stories. Period. She holds an MFA in film production from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. A two-time award winning fellow in Screenwriting and Film-making of the New York Foundation for the Arts, Omonike’s 2000 film, “Nelly’s Bodega”, drew upon her dance research into Yoruba culture from Southwestern Nigeria and Cuba and was screened at numerous international events including the Cannes Film Festival, Festivale Cinema Delle Donne, Femi Festival of Guadeloupe, and on television with PBS. Omonike teaches dance with Image Quilt Dance Theater. She is the founding
teacher of the dance program at Albany High School where she developed a program involving modern dance, classical ballet, Afro-Caribbean dance, flamenco, and stage combat. Omonike choreographed original dance works based on the lives of historical figures such as the Chevalier de Saint George which allowed dance and classical music students to collaborate.
She has also re-staged the works of modern dance choreographers Manuel Alum, Tina Ramirez, and Charles Moore on her students, involving them in research and study of dance history as they learn choreography.
