Debbie Allen (photo provided by Sam Morris PR)
“You wanna become a dancer? You’re going to have to work… work your little tights off.”
So famously said Debbie Allen’s character in the TV series Fame. Well… she was right. And now more than 30 years later, the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actress, dancer and choreographer will be honored at the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation’s Bright Lights Shining Stars Gala (September 27) where she will receive their prestigious Ambassador for the Arts Award. Previous recipients have included Academy Award-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and legendary dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov.
This exciting, star-studded evening of song and dance will serve as a fundraiser for the NYCDance Alliance Foundation, which since 2010 has awarded over $15 million in college scholarships to hundreds of student dancers across the country (including $4 million this year alone). The evening will include performances from the Broadway and dance communities and a special tribute to Debbie Allen.
In addition to her numerous credits on stage & screen (Fame, West Side Story, Sweet Charity) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Debbie Allen is also an accomplished television director and producer and is a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, to which she was appointed in 2001.
A limited number of tickets are available to public and can be purchased by phone at 855-692-5678 or online at www.NYCDAFoundation.net. VIP tickets are priced at $350 (which includes pre and post show receptions and Orchestra seating for the gala), additional tickets are priced at $175 (which includes a ticket to the pre-show reception and a seat to the gala) and $50 (for a balcony seat to the gala).
Bright Lights Shining Stars Gala
Sunday, September 27
6:30 p.m.
NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
566 La Guardia Place