Bridget Moore, a dance faculty member at Dallas Independent School District’s Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts was named a 2012 Choreography Fellow by the Princess Grace Foundation. Moore was commissioned to create a new work and nominated for the coveted award by Ann Williams, Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Founder and Artistic Director.
“I had spoken with Bridget last year about a commissioned work for DBDT,” said Williams. “She seemed like a perfect fit, as an emerging artist, for this award.”
The Princess Grace Foundation, celebrating its 30th anniversary in the U.S., grants only 25 gifts to emerging talent in the disciplines of theater, dance, choreography and film each year. The Foundation’s mission, that mirrors Princess Grace’s in Her lifetime, is to support emerging artists in theater, dance and film through the awarding of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. Notable past recipients of the Princess Grace Award include: Robert Battle (Alvin Ailey), Drew Jacoby (Nederlands Dans Theater), and Gillian Murphy (American Ballet Theatre) and Nejla Y. Yatkin (independent artist). Moore will receive her award at an exclusive awards ceremony and gala October 22, 2012 in New York.
A Dallas native, Moore began her dance training at BTWHSPVA and received her BFA in dance from Ohio State University. Moore was the first recipient of Project Next Generation, a commission to an emerging female choreographer by Urban Bush Women Dance Company. In addition, she was commissioned by the Maggie Allesse National Center for Choreography, in affiliation with Florida State University, to work with the Philadanco Dance Company in a creative residency. Moore recently received the 2012 Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship and was featured in the July 2012 Teacher’s Tool section of Dance Teacher Magazine.
“It is my aspiration to re-establish professional connections by building a continuous working relationship with Dallas Black Dance Theatre. As a native of Dallas, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the artistry and beauty of the prestigious dance company,” said Moore. “It is an understatement to say that it would be an honor to work with dancers of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, a company of artistic excellence and whose longevity spans over 35 years.”
Moore will create a ballet based on the life of the great African American artist, Romare Bearden. Considered one of America’s most important and inventive artists by historians, Bearden grew up in the heart of the Harlem Renaissance and used that experience as the basis for most of his works. His primary medium was the collage – fusing oils, magazine clippings and old paper or fabric like a jigsaw puzzle. Dallas Black Dance Theatre will debut Moore’s work Feb. 22-24, 2013 during the Cultural Awareness Series at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre.
