As the summer ramped up, Tania headed out to the Empire Rooftop to speak with Dawn Durham, VP and Director of Operations at Hospitality Holdings, Inc. Like so many venues, the Empire Rooftop struggled throughout 2020. But when Dawn received a call from Melissa Gerstein and Kimberly Giannelli, Co-Founders of iHeartDance NYC, about organizing a dance performance on the rooftop, Dawn couldn’t resist. Suddenly dancers like Ingrid Silva and Gilbert Bolden were performing for the first time in well over a year. 

Featured venue and performers in this episode:

• Ingrid Silva (@ingridsilva)


• Gilbert Bolden III (@dancerdude56)


• Eli Raphael Gruska (@eli.raphael)


• Olivia MacKinnon (@oliviamackinnon)


• James Kinney - Choreographer (@jkinneydance)


• Luciana Paris (@luciana_paris_official)


• Melissa Musen Gerstein - Producer (@melissagerstein)


• Kimberly Giannelli - Producer (@soulforhire)


• The Empire Rooftop (https://www.theempirerooftop.com/ (@theempirerooftop) 


• I Heart Dance NYC (https://www.iheartdancenyc.com/) (@iheartdancenyc)

Resources/more Info:

• https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a36062101/return-of-new-york-city-dance-iheartdance-nyc-2021/


• https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/NYC-Brightest-Dance-Stars-in-Live-Rooftop-Dance-Series-to-Support-iHeartDance-Relief-Fund-20210318?fbclid=IwAR3L_Ob5UCCQny7Lv9u-RqFQmkmklO8REpMsHjmorGs6egGX_mQkbXH54jo


• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/arts/dance/dancers-of-nycb-empire-hotel.html

Produced by Tania Mohammad. Additional production by Charlotte Moore-Lambert. Executive produced by David Hoffman. Post-production, original music, and sound design by Garrett Tiedemann. Production managed by Gabriela Montequin 

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