Brooklyn’s Judith R. Fishman to Become Mark Morris Dance Group’s Chairman of the Board

Brooklyn’s Judith R. Fishman to Become Mark Morris Dance Group’s Chairman of the Board

(Brooklyn, NY) – The Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) is pleased to announce that Judith R. Fishman has been elected Chairman of the Board beginning April 1. David Resnicow, Board Chairman (2009-2017) will become Vice Chair, to serve alongside existing Vice Chairman Mark Selinger.

“The Mark Morris Dance Group has a long tradition of cultural leadership and community engagement globally and locally, both at the Mark Morris Dance Center and across New York City. I’m inspired by the opportunity to support the world’s greatest living choreographer and enhance the organization’s outstanding education and community programs. I look forward to building on David’s and our fellow board members’ work in leading this exemplary institution to its next stage of success.” said Fishman.

Fishman is an avid supporter of the arts, leading philanthropist and strong advocate for the Brooklyn community. She served as Chairman for the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, spearheading their Living Legacy Plan, and as a member of the board of Brooklyn Botanic Garden and past president of Brooklyn Heights Synagogue.  She joined the Mark Morris Dance Group’s board in 2012 and has served as a member of its Executive Committee, and Marketing and Public Relations and Fundraising Committees. Fishman is married to Alan H. Fishman, Chairman Emeritus of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Brooklyn has been their home for more than 40 years.

“It’s with great pleasure we make this announcement. Judith has been a stalwart supporter of Mark’s work for many years. It is a tremendous complement to the company’s far-ranging work to have her leadership as Board Chairman.” said Nancy Umanoff, Mark Morris Dance Group Executive Director.

“We are excited to gain Judith’s breadth of experience, particularly as we look to the 40th anniversary of the company in 2020 and with long-term creative and capital projects ahead.” said Resnicow.

Fishman will lead the Mark Morris Dance Group’s board which represents a broad range of talent and expertise from various regions:

Judith R. Fishman, Chairman                         
Owner, Rose Displays
Brooklyn, NY

Mark Selinger, Vice Chairman       
Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
Scarsdale, NY
David Resnicow, Vice Chairman       
President, Resnicow + Associates
New York, NY

Isaac Mizrahi, Secretary                
Designer/Performer
New York, NY

Sarabeth Berman                           
Vice President of Public Affairs, Teach For All
Washington, D.C.

Frederick Bland                             
Managing Partner, Beyer Blinder Belle, LLC
Brooklyn, NY

Allan Bufferd                                 
Partner & Executive Chairman,
Family Endowment Partners, LP.
Newtonville, MA

Margaret Conklin                          
Managing Director, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
New York, NY

Suzy Kellems Dominik                
Artist
San Francisco, CA

Shelby Gans                                   
Community Volunteer
San Francisco, CA

Jennifer Goodale                           
Program Director,
Jerome L. Greene Foundation  
New York, NY

Sandy Hill                                      
Author/Athlete
Barcelona, Spain

Timothy J. McClimon                   
President, American Express Foundation
New York, NY

Helen Meyer                                  
Executive VP, Meyer Sound Laboratory
Berkeley, CA

Mark Morris                                  
Artistic Director, Mark Morris Dance Group
New York, NY

Ellen Offner                                   
Principal, Offner Consulting LLC
Newton, MA

Jane Stine                                      
Co-Chair, Parachute Publishing
New York, NY

Nancy Umanoff                            
President and Executive Director,
Mark Morris Dance Group
Queens, NY


Mark Morris has been hailed as the “the most successful and influential choreographer alive, and indisputably the most musical.” (The New York Times). In addition to creating over 150 works for the Mark Morris Dance Group, he conducts orchestras, directs opera, and choreographs for ballet companies worldwide. Morris’ work is acclaimed for its ingenuity, musicality, wit, and humanity. Named a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation in 1991, he has received eleven honorary doctorates to date, and a multitude of awards, including the Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society, the Benjamin Franklin Laureate Prize for Creativity, the Cal Performances Award of Distinction in the Performing Arts, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Gift of Music Award, and the 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award. In 2015, Morris was inducted to the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Formed in 1980, Morris’ internationally-renowned Mark Morris Dance Group has received “highest praise for their technical aplomb, their musicality, and their sheer human authenticity.” (Bloomberg News). Live music and community engagement are vital components of the Dance Group. It has toured with its own musicians, the MMDG Music Ensemble, since 1996, and regularly collaborates with orchestras and opera companies around the world. MMDG’s film and television projects include Dido and Aeneas, The Hard Nut, Falling Down Stairs, the U.K.’s South Bank Show, and Live from Lincoln Center. In 2015 Morris’ signature work L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato premiered on PBS’ Great Performances.

The Mark Morris Dance Center was opened in 2001 to provide a home for the Dance Group, rehearsal space for the dance community, programs for local children and seniors, and dance classes for students of all ages and abilities. The Dance Center and its programs serve 17,000 people each year both on-site and off-site in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx.

The Mark Morris Dance Group gratefully acknowledges support from the Friends of MMDG and: American Express, Anonymous, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, LLP., Morley and Frederick Bland, Booth Ferris Foundation, Allan and Rhea Bufferd, Suzy Kellems Dominik, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Judith R. and Alan H. Fishman, Shelby and Frederick Gans Fund, Isaac Mizrahi and Arnold Germer, Howard Gilman Foundation, Sandy Hill, Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, Elizabeth Liebman, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Suzanne Berman and Timothy J. McClimon, McDermott, Will & Emery, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Helen and John Meyer/Meyer Sound, New England Foundation for the Arts, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Ellen and Arnold Offner, Sarabeth Berman and Evan Osnos, PARC Foundation, Diane Solway and David Resnicow, Resnicow + Associates, Jennifer P. Goodale and Mark Russell, Margaret Conklin and David Sabel, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Iris Cohen and Mark Selinger, The SHS Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Jane Stine and R.L. Stine, The White Cedar Fund.

Additional support provided by: The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Arnow Family Fund, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation, Credit Suisse Americas Foundation, Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Inc., The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Estée Lauder Companies, ExxonMobile Corporate Matching Gift Program, Google Matching Gift Program, Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation, Guggenheim Partners Matching Gifts, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Marta Heflin Foundation, IBM Corporation Matching Gifts Program, JP Morgan Chase, Kinder Morgan Foundation, Leatherwood Foundation, The Henry Luce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, McDermott, Will & Emery, Morgan Stanley & Co., Harris A. Berman & Ruth Nemzoff Family Foundation, New York Life Foundation, Wilhelmina Parris, FLP, The L. E. Phillips Family Foundation, Jerome Robbins Foundation, Rolex, Billy Rose Foundation, Inc., San Antonio Area Foundation, Schneer Foundation, SingerXenos Wealth Management, Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Tiffany & Co., Trust for Mutual Understanding, Viad Corp.
 
Public funding for the Mark Morris Dance Group has been provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, Council Member Helen Rosenthal, the New York City Department for the Aging, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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