This event was to celebrate student scholarships and to recognized our College's generous scholarship donors.
Both student speakers for this 400-person event were THDN family, Peter Rock (Theatre minor, Dance minor) and Mattie McGarey (BFA in Dance). Friend of Dance, Noel Hefty, was in attendance with her scholarship student, Hannah Ghadessi, as well as Theatre & Dance scholarship winners Erika Daun, Seth Lutz, and Niki Tulk.
"I have been greatly influenced by my mentors in the dance program and feel beyond lucky to have a community that pushes me to seek out new opportunities and explore new ways that dance can impact the world. I never could have expected that my path in college would be filled with art nor that I would be able to make a difference in my community through artistic engagement.This past year I understood this more than ever before when I was awarded the Jamie Kellam Redmond Scholarship for dance excellence in performance, choreography, professionalism, and dedication to the dance program and greater artist community. This award was created to honor Ms. Redmond who was the first dance major at CU. I cannot begin to express how grateful I have been to have received this most prestigious Dance Award and want to thank the Redmond family for this recognition and the opportunities that I have been presented with as a result of this scholarship." - Mattie McGarey
"Through this award I will be able to pursue a long held dream of mine to expand my dance training outside of the country. This summer I am excited to begin studying with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company at their international dance village in Ga’aton, Israel. The dance department at CU has inspired my great love of international dance styles and innovations in movement that are being developed abroad. My ultimate passion in dance is performing and I believe this opportunity will bring me closer to my dream of dancing with an internationally touring company and sharing art with a global audience. Dance has the ability to connect people from across cultures and create community through a universal language. I consider it a rebellion to be both an artist and a philosopher in our contemporary society and therefore believe it is my responsibility to give an embodied voice to issues facing our world that cannot be ignored. This award helps to further these goals and promote the visibility of emerging artists at a time when the world needs it most." - Mattie McGarey