LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center
upon the occasion of hosting its 36th Annual Souls of Our Feet: People
of Color Dance Festival

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize and acknowledge those within our midst who have made signif-
icant contributions to the quality of life therein; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend
the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center upon the occasion of hosting its
36th Annual Souls of Our Feet: People of Color Dance Festival on June
17-20, 2012, at the Kumble Theater at Long Island University's Brooklyn
Campus; and
WHEREAS, A mainstay on the New York dance landscape, the Thelma Hill
Performing Arts Center and its festival continues to provide a platform
to dancers of color; the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University has
served as the festival's home since 1992; and
WHEREAS, The Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center builds bridges of
understanding through the presentation and celebration of choreographic
works by artists of color; as an independent non-profit organization,
its mission is to offer performance opportunities to artists so they can
share their work with diverse communities; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center has
supported and attracted emerging and established dance artists of color
who seek out the organization's experimental, yet historically aware
environment; it has become a viable institution of communities that have
traditionally celebrated and reflected on their social and cultural
issues through the rituals of music, dance, literature, and performance;
and
WHEREAS, The Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center's founder Larry Phil-
lips began working as a dance therapist in Brooklyn at a community
center that sponsored children's education and support programs for
single parents attending New York Technical College; the programs were
the forerunner of Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center; in 1977, he
renamed the organization after his deceased but renowned and highly
influential teacher, Thelma Hill; and
WHEREAS, Thelma Hill is remembered as a positive force in the dance
world of New York City and beyond; she also danced with the Alvin Ailey
Dance Theater and the historically significant New York Negro Ballet
Company; she was a member of the dance faculty at the American Dance
Festival and devoted herself to teaching dance most notably at the Clark
Center; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who
enhance the well-being and vitality of their community and have shown a
long and sustained commitment to excellence certainly have earned our
recognition and applause; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center upon the occasion of
hosting the 36th Annual Souls of Our Feet: People of Color Dance
Festival; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Larry Phillips, Founder, Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center.