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Taiwan Native Wins Strassler Award at Jacob's Pillow05:21PM / Monday, August 24, 2009
BECKET, Mass. — The School at Jacob's Pillow has awarded I-Fen Lin of Taiwan with the sixth annual Lorna Strassler Award for Student Excellence. It will be presented by Lorna Strassler, a longtime Pillow board member and Great Barrington resident, during "A Jazz Happening," a benefit performance for the school on Sunday, Aug. 23, in the Ted Shawn Theatre.
The award is bestowed in Strassler's honor upon especially talented and dedicated dancers attending the school and includes a full scholarship to attend one of its programs of professional study and a $2,500 cash stipend.
Lin, 26, participated in this year's Contemporary Traditions Program, a three-week professional training program directed by Milton Myers and with choreographers Aszure Barton, Tero Saarinen and Helen Pickett on faculty. A native of Taiwan and an accomplished dancer, Lin holds a bachelor's degree in dance from Taipei National University of the Arts and is currently working toward an master's in modern dance at the University of Utah.
She has performed with Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan and in works choreographed by Lin Hwai-min, Trisha Brown, Ross Parkes, Satu Hummasti and Bulareyaung Pagarlava. Lin has also been recognized this past year for her choreography and dance film work. She had two original works presented at the Northwest American College Dance Festival Association and a dance film screened at the Dance Across the Board 2009 Conference held at New York University.
The award honoree is chosen each spring during the school's competitive audition and application process. Selection is based on the demonstration of advanced technical abilities, superior performance skills, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to the art of dance. The Strassler Award makes a significant difference in the lives and careers of those who have received it, many of whom go on to join prestigious companies throughout the world.
The 2004 recipient, Winston Brown, danced with Paul Taylor's touring company and is currently performing with T.U. Dance in Minnesota and CorbinDances in New York. Avichai Scher, who received the 2005 award, has danced with Ballet British Columbia, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and New Chamber Ballet and was named one of Dance Magazine's "Top 25 to Watch." He returned to the Pillow for a June performance with his own company, Avi Scher & Dancers. Min Li, the winner of the 2006 award, spent a year in Israel with Batsheva Dance Company and now dances with Scapino Ballet in the Netherlands. Shannon Kline, the 2007 recipient, danced with Broadway veteran Chet Walker's WALKERDANCE and is currently writing her own musical. And last year's winner, Lindsey Holmes, is dancing with Lula Washington Dance Theater in Los Angeles and Liss Fain Dance in San Francisco.
Strassler has been a member of the Pillow since 1988. The Strassler Award was established by David Strassler in 2004 to honor his wife's long-held passion for dance education at the Pillow.
For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org. |
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