A Shreveport high school senior has received a $2,000 scholarship from the Helen Horton Education and Performing Arts Scholarship.
The award was announced during the Dance His High Praise VI performance at The Strand in Shreveport on Saturday (April 27, 2013). Angela Mitchell, who attends Byrd High School, said she plans to attend Grambling State University, where she wants to major in nursing and minor in dance.
The elegant event was “A Tribute to Dianne Maroney-Grigsby”,the director of Grambling State University’s Orchesis Dance Company. Grigsby is a former Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble dancer and she toured with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre in Africa, Asia and Europe.
She succeeded Virgie Broussard Pradia as the company’s third artistic director. A native of Norfolk, Va., Maroney-Grigsby won the prestigious Silver Leo Award for her choreography at the 1994 Jazz Dance World Congress ,and she was recognized in 1995 with a living legend award by the Nena Wideman Foundation of Shreveport.
Maroney-Grigsby had a dance performance, “August Ascending”, selected for the regional Dance America’s National Festival, Montreal, Quebec in 2012.
“It was wonderful to see Ms. Mitchell accept the scholarship recognition during such an enjoyable program,” said Connie Walton, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Grambling State University. “Of course, it was wonderful to hear that she plans to join us at GSU. We look forward to welcoming her and working with her as she grows professionally as a nursing student. We can’t wait to see her dance at our institution.”
Orchesis is a highly competitive dance company, focused on training dancers aesthetically with high artistic standards and with a strong community awareness through entertainment repertoires. Grambling State University students audition to join the company, and they compete regularly to perform in specific performances during the football season and for other events.
Horton graduated from Grambling College in 1959. She is credited with organizing the first Dance His High Praise program, now coordinated by Vincent Williams, her son.