DO40 LEGACY AWARDS FILLED WITH LOVE AND LAUGHTER
AT LIPS RESTAURANT, DECEMBER 9, 2019
Host Richard Skipper (holding Kathryn Doby’s award), performer Pattaya Hart,
Cheryl Clark, Candy Brown, Michon Peacock and speakers Dennis Grimaldi,
Eden Lane and Cristine Dhimos
The 11th Annual DO40 Legacy Awards were awash in laughter, tears, sentimentality and hilarity all at the same time! All of our honorees received standing ovations after their acceptance speeches – a first for DO40! Candy Brown, Cheryl Clark, Kathryn Doby and Michon Peacock were honored on December 9th at LIPS restaurant to a packed house of friends and family – and so many fellow dancers we couldn’t keep count. And, as usual, one group’s guests renewed acquaintances with dancers from another honoree’s table, and it cascaded into a (we must use the 70’s term) lovefest! Outstanding honorees (as usual!) and outstanding speakers (Dennis Grimaldi, Eden Lane and Cristine Dhimos) were the norm, and the wonderfully talented Pattaya Hart added icing to Cheryl Clark’s birthday cake (!) by performing All That Jazz and Cell Block Tango from CHICAGO. (Cheryl Clark also accepted the award for Kathryn Doby, who could not make it in from LA.)
The Legacy Honorees and their speakers: L to R Cheryl Clark, Dennis Grimaldi,
Candy Brown, Eden Lane, DO40 president John Sefakis, Cristine Dhimos
and Michon Peacock
DO40 members in attendance included Lora Martens, Virginia Seidel, Sandy Nance, Ann Johnson, Karin Baker, Tom McRoberts and Robert Sacheli in from Maryland, Josh Ellis, Leni Anders, Lawrence Leritz, Martha Warshaw, John Gilvey, Joanna Rush, Patti Mariano, Kevin Winkler, Virginia Seidel, Lora martens, Joy Serio Dunbar and board members Sasha Spielvogel, Nancy Dalton Flowers, Patrick McCarthy, Katharine Buffaloe Harris and Sharon Wendrow, just to name a few! New friends included Mary Ann Lamb, Stephanie Pope, Sada Azarian, Scott Fless, Jill Williams, Ernestine Jackson, producer and old friend Ed Gaynes and Gwen Arment, Philip Arran, Mary Callahan, Brian Cummings, Dana Moore, just to name a few, again! And family and friends of the honorees were eagerly cheering on all the speakers.
Pattaya Hart performed All that Jazz and Cell Block Tango
This event really underscores one of the most important parts of our mission, to bring together the community of dancers and expand our social network and help pay it forward to the next generation. All of our events are taped and donated to the Jerome Robbins Dance Collection at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, a real “live” documentation of Our History, Our Legacy and Our Lives. And as we always say, you can’t read these stories in any book – these are tales right from the hors.. ah, dancers’ mouths!
A Gaggle of DO40ers: Sasha Spielvogel, Joy Serio Dunbar, Ann Johnson
Karin Baker and Nancy Dalton Flowers
Thanks to host Richard Skipper, perfomer Pattaya Hart and the board of Dancers over 40 for their support. And as Advisory Board member Chita Riveraa always says, “We simply cannot do it alone!” Dancers over 40…and FRIENDS are open to membership to everyone, regardless of age or dance affiliation (which is why we added FRIENDS to our name!). If you haven’t joined, please do – or renew at any time. Just go to www.dancersover40.org and click on the JOIN/RENEW/DONATE button! And remember, membership has its perks! You can watch the 2019 Legacy Awards and all of our events on our member-only page of our website with your DO40 discount code/password! And a photo gallery over over 90 photos will be posted there for all to view!
Getting settled before dinner at LIPS restaurant