A long-time dancer for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Company and a stage and film actor have been selected to receive Richard Porter Leach Fellowships to attend Empire State University.<\/p>\n
Linda Celeste Sims, a dancer from Mahopac, New York, and Adam Chanler-Berat, an actor from Brooklyn, New York, are this year\u2019s recipients of the esteemed fellowship, named in memory of Leach, founder of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The fellowship is given to matriculated students who are established and active in the performing arts and pursuing an undergraduate degree at SUNY Empire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s recipients of the Richard Porter Leach Fellowship embody the spirit and passion that Mr. Leach had for the dramatic arts in all its forms,\u201d said Marly Norris, executive vice president in the Office for Advancement. \u201cWe are delighted to present these fellowships to two highly deserving students, whose careers demonstrate a commitment to the performing arts and its role in the betterment of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both students are pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in the arts. Sims, a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in Harlem for more than 24 years, is a dance educator. She is also a choreographer and visiting assistant professor of modern dance at SUNY Purchase.<\/p>\n
As the child of immigrant Latino parents, Sims began her dance training at the age of five at Ballet Hisp\u00e1nico in New York City. She attended the La Guardia High School of the Performing Arts and later joined Ballet Hisp\u00e1nico as a dancer. She went on to serve as the dance school\u2019s rehearsal director.<\/p>\n
Sims is the recipient of numerous awards and has appeared on various magazine covers as well as television programs, including \u201cDancing with the Stars,\u201d \u201cThe Ellen DeGeneres Show,\u201d and \u201cThe Today Show.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Her goal is to get a master\u2019s degree in dance and to promote diversity in dance. \u201cI believe that dance can break barriers and should have no barriers,\u201d Sims said. \u201cIt is my wish as a teacher to serve as an example of what could happen for a young artist of color and give a hand and my heart to enable them to achieve their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n Chanler-Berat is a film and stage actor who was pursuing a degree in musical theater when he landed his first professional acting role in the musical \u201cNext to Normal.\u201d The play was performed on Broadway and off-Broadway and went on to win the 2010 Pulitzer for drama.<\/p>\n He also starred in Broadway productions of \u201cPeter and the Starcatcher\u201d and \u201cAm\u00e9lie\u201d and films such as \u201cDelivery Man\u201d and \u201cThe Life Before Her Eyes.\u201d His television credits include supporting roles on \u201cLaw and Order,\u201d \u201cThe Good Wife,\u201d and \u201cNCIS: New Orleans,\u201d among others. Since 2021, he has appeared as the teacher Jordan Glassberg in the HBO Max drama, \u201cGossip Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n Chanler-Berat is currently exploring writing. \u201cAlthough my career has continued to thrive, I find myself in a moment of expansion,\u201d he said. \u201cI have started to write, mostly plays and screenplays, and those pursuits made me crave additional education to satiate my appetite for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n The Richard Porter Leach Fellowship was created in memory of Leach, a Phi Beta Kappa Dartmouth graduate and a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In addition to founding SPAC and serving as its director, he was a director of the Empire State College Foundation, now known as the Empire State University Foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A long-time dancer for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Company and a stage and film actor have been selected to receive Richard Porter Leach Fellowships to attend Empire State University. Linda Celeste Sims, a dancer from Mahopac, New York, and Adam Chanler-Berat, an actor from Brooklyn, New York, are this year\u2019s recipients of the esteemed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\n