H.R. No. 560
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The presentation of a 2017 Texas Medal of Arts Award
to the Dallas Black Dance Theatre provides a welcome opportunity to
honor the organization's founder and artistic advisor, Ann
Williams, for her lifelong support of the arts; and
WHEREAS, The signature event of the Texas Cultural Trust, the
Texas Medal of Arts Awards honor the achievements and creative
talents of leaders in the arts, as well as those whose generosity
has provided artistic opportunities for Texans of all ages; and
WHEREAS, Ann Williams founded the Dallas Black Dance Theatre
in 1976, with the goals of encouraging an appreciation of dance
among minority youth and helping them use dance as a form of
creative expression; and
WHEREAS, Under her leadership, DBDT has grown to include a
fully professional company of multiethnic dancers who perform
modern, jazz, ethnic, and spiritual works across the country and
around the world; a second troupe, known as Encore!, is made up of
semiprofessional dancers and is involved in local and regional
educational outreach programs; in addition, DBDT operates a
training school, Dallas Black Dance Academy, which teaches ballet,
tap, modern, jazz, and ethnic dance to more than 475 students every
week; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Williams served as the artistic director of the
Dallas Black Dance Theatre until 2014, and she continues to remain
deeply involved as its artistic advisor; she is also a founding
member of the Dance Council of North Texas and the International
Association of Blacks in Dance, and she has further shared her time
and talents as a panelist for numerous organizations, such as the
Texas Commission on the Arts, the Dallas Center for the Performing
Arts Foundation, and the Houston and Arkansas Arts Councils; and
WHEREAS, This distinguished Texan has garnered myriad
accolades over the course of her career, including an Arts
Community Alliance Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts and
induction into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame; in 2005, she was
honored as part of the Masters of African American Choreography
series at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, Through her vision and leadership, Ann Williams has
built an enduring cultural institution while inspiring a love of
dance in countless Texans; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby commend Ann Williams for her immeasurable
contributions to dance and dance education and congratulate her on
the occasion of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre's receipt of a 2017
Texas Medal of Arts Award; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Ms. Williams as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Giddings
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 560 was adopted by the House on March
2, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House