14 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 3, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Materials for the Arts kicks off Great Dance Shoe Giveaway
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th ese shoes were made for dancing!
As the arts continue to be a vital part
of Queens’ cultural landscape during
its recovery from COVID-19, Materials
for the Arts created ‘Th e Great Dance
Shoe Giveaway” initiative to support
dancers, dance organizations and aspiring
young dancers throughout the city’s
public schools.
Th e Great Dance Shoe Giveaway
event kickoff took place on Tuesday,
Feb. 22, featuring city and community
leaders and performances from local
dance groups.
Over 11,000 pairs of donated dance
shoes are currently available, free of
charge, at the MFTA warehouse in
Long Island City. MFTA member
organizations can pick up adult
and children’s tap
shoes, ballet slippers
and jazz boots
— donated by Ocean
State Job Lot, the largest
closeout retailer
in the northeast —
through March 3.
“Queens has no
shortage of notable
dance groups that
represent countless
cultures from
across the world. We’re so excited to have
this Queens-based program support our
dance organizations, students and more,
with indispensable free dance shoes, as
they enrich our neighbors and beyond
with their art,” said Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards Jr.
Th e Great Dance Shoe Giveaway was
made possible by a donation from Rhode
Island-based Ocean State and a collaboration
between MFTA — New York
City’s premier creative reuse center, dedicated
to supporting arts organizations,
public schools and city agencies with
free supplies — and Th e Joyce Th eater,
based in Chelsea, as well as Karen Brooks
Hopkins, author and president emerita of
the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
“It’s thrilling to see a public-private partnership
have such a powerful impact on
our city’s cultural aff airs. Th e Great Dance
Shoe Giveaway
will provide hundreds
of organizations
and individuals
with the important, but
sometimes expensive,
materials necessary to
carry out their craft — both to their benefi
t and to the benefi t of all New Yorkers
who get to enjoy and appreciate the art
made possible by this event,” said Council
member Chi Ossé, chair of the committee
of cultural aff airs and libraries.
Th e event was coordinated by Brooks
Hopkins, in partnership with her brother,
Ron Brooks, a supervisor and buyer for
Ocean State Job Lot.
“I am thrilled that my brother’s company
has made this remarkable ‘giveaway’
possible. Th ousands of dance shoes are
exactly what New York needs to ‘bounce
back’ or should I say, ‘leap up’ and out of
this pandemic,” Brooks Hopkins said. “I
am also excited that the event is fortuitously
occurring in conjunction with the
publication of my memoir, ‘BAM…And
Th en It Hit Me,’ which celebrates the creative
life of our city.”
With more than 140 stores, Ocean
State has expanded its reach, operating
in all of New England, New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, while making
signifi cant contributions to a variety
of important causes, such as children’s
literacy, health care, veteran support
and fi ghting hunger.
Working with the Joyce Th eater’s executive
director, Linda Shelton, Brooks
Hopkins connected with dancers and
dance groups across the city, as well as
MFTA, to distribute the shoes.
Th e Joyce Th eater Foundation, a nonprofi
t organization, has served the dance
community for almost four decades. Th e
theater is one of the only ones built by
dancers and has provided an intimate
and elegant home for more than 400
U.S.-based and international companies.
It has also expanded its reach beyond its
Chelsea home through off -site presentations
at venues like Lincoln Center’s
David H. Koch Th eater and outdoor
programming.
“Nothing brings people together like
live performances and joyful, collective
movement. As our city’s dancers and performing
arts organizations continue to
return to stages large and small, we’re
overjoyed to distribute this spectacular
donation of dance shoes in support
of their work,” Materials for the Arts
Executive Director Tara Sansone said. “I
thank all of our partners for making this
donation possible and supporting the arts
in New York City.”
Dance organizations and public schools
with performance arts programming
interested in receiving dance shoes via
Th e Great Dance Shoe Giveaway are
required to make an appointment online
at the Materials for the Arts website.
In addition to dance shoes, dance
costumes donated by From Our Hearts
to Our Toes, a nonprofit that collects
lightly worn dance costumes, will be
available at the distribution. All year
long, MFTA provides an array of supplies,
including donated fabric, paper
supply, buttons, beads, trim, small
props, furniture, paint, electronics and
office supplies.
Organizations interested in becoming
members of Materials for the Arts
may complete an application.
Xianix Barrera Flamenco performs at The Great Dance Shoe Giveaway.
Photos by Corazon Aguirre
From left: Shirley Levy of DCLA, Tara Sansone of MFTA, Sheelah Feinberg of DCLA, Karen Brooks Hopkins, NYC Deputy Mayor
Maria Torres-Spring and Dave Sarlitto of Ocean State Job Lot.
NYC Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Spring
speaks at the Great Dance Shoe Giveaway.
A sample of the wide selection of shoes.
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