Press Release/for immediate release
From: Barbara J. Beitel
Telephone: (609) 465-3963

Access to Art Celebrates Joan Myers Brown at Reception
Preceding Philadanco Performance on May l7th

Cape May Court House. May l7th from 5-7 p.m. will be Access to Art’s Club
Harlem Revisited Reception at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center where people can reminiscence with Philadanco’s founder and artistic director, Joan Myers Brown, who, during the 50’s and 60’s, opened for famous performers at Club Harlem, on Kentucky Ave., Atlantic City with Larry Steele’s high kicking chorus line. It was the era of the Rat Pack in A.C. Celebrities and sports figures roamed the streets. Today, her company is the featured event across the nation and on three continents. It was not always so.

What does classical ballet and modern dance have to do with Club Harlem? In the 50’s and 60’s, Joan Myers Brown, founder and artistic director of Philadanco! sought refuge there when her dream of becoming a Pennsylvania Ballet dancer was thwarted by her color. She wanted to be a classical dancer for which she had studied. At Club Harlem, the very apex of show business, she brought her classical dance training. She ended up being both a choreographer and featured dancer for Larry Steel Smart Affairs which warmed up such performers as Sammy Davis, Jr., Pearl Bailey, Billy Eckstein, and Billy Daniels. After Club Harlem, she toured with Pearl Bailey for three years. Steeped in show business, she kept her dream intact and her dream had to do with classical dance. Out of this desire and lack of opportunity for black dancers came Philadanco!, first the dance school, then the company. Access will acknowledge her Club Harlem roots, and the formidable accomplishments of Philadanco! and will offer song by Kim Sledge, who as one of the Sister Sledge sang at the Club Harlem in the 70’s. Kim will open for Joan Myers Brown and for her now internationally known company. Lois Smith will provide some jazz, and delicious hors d’ouevres will be served. The event is a benefit for Access to Art and for the Middle Township PAC who will set up a marketing fund with the proceeds.

In the 50’s and 60’s North Kentucky Ave A.C.. was a place where Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe E. Lewis and others wandered at will. On the same street, the Club 500 featured the Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly frequented that club. And natives and visitors collected there for all the night life, back room gambling, and the opportunity to mill with the rich and famous. In 2006, Myers Brown was Dance Magazine’s honoree. Her company sold out the Kennedy Center last year, and she always sells out the Spring and Fall performances at the Kimmel in Philadelphia where the company is in residence. She just returned from a 4 ½ week stint in Europe, her second, in several years. She spent the entire month of March 2006 in Germany, Luxembourg and Italy. She performed at the Newark PAC. Says the Sarasota Herald-Tribune of Philadanco! ”…an astonishing abundance of stamina…It’s hard to imagine any other ensemble mastering the swift rhythms or performing with such back breaking abandon.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said “ some of the hottest dancers on the planet.” “Exuberant.” says the New York Times. “Non-stop power” says The Dallas Morning News. “Choreography filled with sleek, propulsive movement..” N.Y. Times.

“I choreographed the shows for Larry Steel Smart Affairs. I was a teacher of dance, a featured performer and a choreographer. The stars of that era, Billy Daniels, Billy Eckstein drew crowds. It was a predominantly black show and most of the audience was non-black. I was one of the few that were classically trained. I studied with Sydney King, Antony Tudor, Katherine Dunham, William Sena. I went to New York to study at the Dunham school. In those days the girls were hired for their looks. My mother encouraged me to do whatever I wanted. She was a research chemical engineer. I left Larry Steele’s show and toured for three years with Pearl Bailey. I wanted to dance classically. I formed my own company because Pennsylvania Ballet wouldn’t take me. They didn’t take people of color. They still have no black dancers.” Joan Myers Brown said. Today Philadanco! is the winner of the National Endowment of the Arts, Mid Atlantic Region “American Masters” award along with the Martha Graham Dance Company and Sweet Honey in the Rock. In 2006, it won the coveted Dance Magazine award.

The reception will feature music by Sister Sledge member, Kim Sledge, who, with her sisters dominated R&B in the l970’s and made their #1 hit, “We are Family,” popular with everyone from the Pittsburg Pirates to people across the states. They will also offer jazz by Lois Smith, who performs at the Cape May Jazz Festival. Delicious hors d’ouevres will be served. The event includes a ticket to the performance by Philadanco! following at 7:30 p.m. and costs $60. inclusive. Tickets are available at the Middle Township PAC, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (609) 463-l924/5 to reserve or send checks to Access to Art, Inc., 4l7 E. Pacific Ave., Cape May Court House, NJ 08210.. Call Access to Art at (609) 465-3963. Tickets are $25.& $30. for the performance alone and $60. for the combined event with VIP center orchestra seats.. The event is partially underwritten by the following sponsors: Kindle Ford, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation American Masterpieces grant, in conjunction with the NEA, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Dept. of State, and the Cape May County Cultural & Heritage Commission, administered by the Library, Sturdy Savings Bank, the Sheller Family Foundation, Cape Savings Bank and the Delaware River & Bay Authority. The MT PAC is located off exit l0 E. on the Garden State Parkway.

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