Editor’s note: This press release was provided by Accent Dance NYC. The Pelham Examiner publishes press releases in the form received as a service to the community.
PELHAM, NEW YORK, December 4, 2024, Accent Dance NYC, a Pelham-based non-profit dance organization working throughout Pelham, New Rochelle, Mt. Vernon and NYC, which champions multiculturalism and community through arts education and professional concert performance, held its NEXT Steps Gala on Saturday, November 2nd.
Held at the iconic Alvin Ailey Studios in Manhattan, the festive event featured live professional and student performances, dinner, an accessible latin dance workshop, and inspirational speeches by Mel Campos, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Mt. Vernon and Reina Celis, a former Accent Dance NYC student and current 11th grader at LaGuardia High School in Manhattan.
Accent Dance NYC exceeded its gala fundraising goal of $100,000, of which funds will be used to support the organization’s charitable mission of empowering Westchester and NYC youth and audiences through the transformative power of the arts. Due to a record-level of individual and corporate support, as well as grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, ArtsWestchester, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Accent Dance NYC is well positioned to continue its impactful dance residencies and educational performances in partner schools and community centers throughout lower Westchester and New York City, and to showcase new works by the next generation of choreographers.
Accent Dance NYC extends special thanks to Diamond corporate sponsor, ArtsWestchester for matching grants totaling $5,000, and Mastercard for matching grants totaling $4,500. The charitable organization also extends gratitude to Platinum corporate sponsors ($2,500), Capital Realty NY and Bass & Lemer LLP, and further acknowledges the generosity of additional corporate sponsors, Meridian Risk Management, Blue Dog Wines & Spirits, and Bayside Travel.
A heartfelt thanks goes to individual Angel donors, Doug and Gay Lane, who contributed $25,000 towards the organization this year, while also securing the winning bid on an international trip as part of the event’s auction.
Accent Dance NYC also wishes to thank the many individual supporters who made the annual fundraising event a success, including Benefactor donors ($5,000+), George and Suzanne Zilvetti; Patron donors ($2,500-$4,999), Sharee Gregg, Elizabeth and Kevin Fee, Leigh Goldman and Todd Katz, Sharene and Matt Jones, John and Lisa Silverman, Drs. Karen and Edwin P. Su, and David and Andrea Ziegelman; and Partner donors ($1,000-$2499), Lee Rauch and George Young, Sergio and Rocio Aguilar, Steven and Maxine Sands, Mary Crotty and Dan Livingston, Courtney Ghatan and Dr. Saadi Ghatan, Fran and Gene Porcaro, and Jane and Mike Carmody.
There’s still time to make a year-end, tax-deductible donation to Accent Dance NYC by going to www.accent.dance/support-us/
ABOUT ACCENT DANCE NYC
Accent Dance NYC, www.accent.dance, has served over 16,000 students throughout NYC and lower Westchester, including the Hutchinson, Siwanoy, and Prospect elementary schools, as well as partnered regularly with the Pelham Art Center. Accent Dance NYC also works with schools throughout New Rochelle and Mt. Vernon and have multi-year partnerships with the New Rochelle YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club of Mt. Vernon.
Accent Dance NYC is committed to bringing dance education and professional performance initiatives to the children and families of lower Westchester and New York City. Through a unique collaboration, a team of multidisciplinary, multicultural artists have built a dance-based educational curriculum as well as created professional performances that champion community and multiculturalism. Accent Dance NYC’s top-tier performers and teachers are building bridges through the universal mediums of movement and music while bolstering cognitive skills, discipline, learning and communication among the children, families, and audiences they serve.
