There are very few things in life that are as powerful and as freeing and as fun as dancing!
Brooklyn resident Cheryl Todmann found this out 25 years ago after her corporate job bogged her down so much she decided to enroll in an adult dance class for recreation and as a release. That single decision changed her life.
Imagine: Something so simple as dancing could be so liberating and even change your perspective on life!
That’s why in 2010, Todmann launched The Stars of New York Dance, a competition that pairs local leaders with professional dancers in a dance-off to raise money for dance scholarships for children in underserved communities.
And for ten of those years, BK Reader has been a proud sponsor.
On Friday, Nov. 17, Todmann held the 14th Annual Stars of New York Dance at The Theater at City Tech in Downtown Brooklyn, sponsored by AARP New York, the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the National Urban League and BK Reader.
Hosted by Errol Louis of Spectrum News NY1 for the past 14 years, this year’s roster of seven “Stars” gracing the stage were Larry Blackmon, CEO of The Blackmon Organization; Monique Chandler-Waterman, New York State Assemblymember, 58th District; Ted Crawford, life coach and real estate investor; Nicole Duncan-Smith, president and CEO of Sunday School Dropout; Benita Miller, executive director of Powerful Families, Powerful Communities; and Marc Morial, president and CEO of National Urban League and local artist and filmmaker Joseph Grant, Jr.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who was also a competitor in the first Stars of NY Dance competition in 2010 when she was still a city councilmember, returned this year for a special presentation.
“A round of applause to the children,” said James of the hard work and discipline that go into dance. “They even take time away from TikTok. And thank you to the brains behind this organization, Cheryl Todmann, for fostering this love and passion and dance in our children.”
During the first half of the evening, legendary West African Dance Educator Mama Wilhelmina Taylor and luminary Theatrical Director Jesse Wooden, Jr. were honored with the Stellar Legend of the Arts awards through tributes by the Kafago Dance Ensemble, the Asase Yaa School of the Arts, and special words by Bishop Johnny Ray Youngblood (a past competitor), Broadway actor Eden Duncan-Smith and spoken word artist Jennifer Falu.
The Champion of Dance Access Award was presented to Marc Morial, on behalf of the National Urban League, for their generous support.
And then the dance competition began! Morial and his partner Alison Mixon of Brooklyn Ballet gave a winning mashup performance to George Gershwin’s aria, “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess and the 1978 disco hit, “To Be Real,” by Cheryl Lynn.
Chandler-Watterman and her partner David Myrie of the Taylor Lovett Dance Academy, displayed an epic dance story chronicling the rise of a Jamaican dancehall queen, while Crawford, with his partner Zakiya Harris of Asase Yaa School of the Arts, delighted the crowd with a dance compilation around a college homecoming, class of 1993.
Rice, with his partner Aqura Lacey of the Billie Holiday Theatre’s Youth Arts Academy, presented a sexy date night scene where they danced as a courting couple to an exquisite tango routine; while Miller, with her partner Nathan Trice of Nathan Trice Rituals Dance, took the audience on a journey to Detroit where they caught midwestern groove of pop electronica.
Grant, with his partner Sashawna Donaldson of I Dance Movement, had the crowd bopping in their seats with their jazz routine to 80s RnB song, Cameo's “Candy” and Beyonce’s “Love on Top”; while Duncan-Smith and her partner, Kevin Hunte of Creative Outlet Dance Theatre, took the crows on an iconic hip hop journey from the 90s to today.
The vibe was electric, and the crowd was here for it.
Close to 500 audience members voted from their phones to ultimately choose Chandler-Waterman and Myrie’s dancehall queen routine as the winning performance.
The winning duo received $10,000 for Myrie’s dance company, Taylor Lovett Dance Academy, to provide 10 children with a dance scholarship. The other participating dance organizations also received a $1,000 dance scholarship.
Chandler-Waterman dedicated her routine to Stanley Drayton, her first dance partner and the reason why she fell in love with the movie "Dancehall Queen," a story about gaining victory over internal struggles and trauma and turning pain into purpose — the same themes that inspired her dance routine.
“Stanley, we did this for you! We did it,” Waterman said in her acceptance speech. “And I want to thank all of my constituents of the 58! Because of all of the support and hard work, there will be 10 kids that get scholarships!”
Perhaps one of the evening’s biggest highlights was when they shared a video message from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, followed by the presentation of a Community Project Funding grant from Jeffries’ office of $500,000.
Todmann was overjoyed.
“Thank you to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for this tremendous opportunity … to make children’s dance dreams come true. We will be able to provide 250 children with a $2,000 dance scholarship to receive a year of free dance education and training with dance organizations,” Todmann said.
“There will be a whole lot of dancing happening in the NY8!”
So, another successful Stars of NY Dance Competition down, and so many more to go! With the $500,000 grant support, its future is looking good.
But that’s not the only reason for its longevity; it’s also because of what it inspires: Watching the leaders in our own community, the people we hold in such high regard be brave, move out of their comfort zones and have fun doing it — all for a good cause — that's inspiration!
That’s the power of dance!
