Atlanta, Ga. – During the 2013 Performing Arts Exchange conference in Nashville, TN, South Arts announced Ivan Sygoda as this year’s recipient of the Mary Beth Treen Award. Sygoda, considered a foremost leader in the field of presenting and touring dance, serves as Founding Director of Pentacle, an organization dedicated to serving contemporary dance through support services and programming performances. The award was presented in front of an audience of arts professionals gathered in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
During the award ceremony, Mary Beth Treen, for whom the award is named, described Sygoda as “a guy, a very-well-respected, honorable, gentleman who made me feel welcome. He would come to my booth on move-in days and dance me down the aisles and make me laugh and feel like I belonged. I came to realize how much that friendly gesture meant to me.” Sygoda’s welcoming nature, she continued, inspired her to champion a mentoring program for new participants at the Performing Arts Exchange and the other regional and national presenting/touring conferences.
“The performing arts are bigger and more diverse than any one of us can encompass,” explained Sygoda as he received the award. “Our differences do not divide us. They unite us on a deeper level. Therein lies our strength as a community and as an industry.”
Sygoda joined Pentacle in 1976 and currently serves as their Founding Director. With Pentacle, he conceived their “Marketing from the Inside Out” workshops and Help Desk service projects for emerging and non-mainstream dance and performance companies, serving artists across the country. He is a past President and board member of North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents, served three terms on the board of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, served on the board of the Western Arts Alliance, is a member of the New York City Arts Coalition Steering Committee, and is a lead consultant on South Arts’ Dance Touring Initiative. In addition to the Mary Beth Treen Award, Dance/USA and APAP have recognized Sygoda with awards for his service to the field
The Mary Beth Treen Award is presented annually during the Performing Arts Exchange to a respected member of the performing arts presenting and touring community. The award is named for Mary Beth Treen, now retired from Mary Beth Treen Artists Management, for her contributions to the performing arts presenting and touring field. For over 40 years, Mary Beth worked tirelessly on the advancement of the field and has served as a mentor for students, artists, managers, presenters and others who are engaged in the presentation of the performing arts.
###
Contact: Ivan Schustak
ischustak@southarts.org, (404) 874-7244 ext.29
About South Arts
South Arts, a nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to address the role of the arts in impacting the issues important to our region, and to link the South with the nation and the world through the arts.