Lisa Collins Vidnovic to be honored June 11

June 1, 2020  |  Posted in Awards & Recognition, Ballet, News

Lisa Collins Vidnovic will be honored with Leadership Award by  Arts + Business Council for Greater Philadelphia on June 11, 2020

Metropolitan Ballet’s Artistic Director & Founder, Lisa Collins Vidnovic, will be honored in an Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 11:00 AM EST. Vidnovic was selected by a panel of cultural peers as one of nine Leadership Award winners for 2020, by the Arts + Business Council for Greater Philadelphia. Each year, the Awards spotlight innovators in the performing and visual arts whose leadership contributes to the quality of life in the Philadelphia region. The Awards event will be held via Zoom and include lively video highlights and “performances,” by Metropolitan Ballet Company dancers and others.  Event is free and open to all. Register Here for June 11 Awards Event.

Vidnovic was noted particularly for two innovations: Metropolitan’s nationally recognized Boys’ Scholarship Program, and the Kinetic Literacy Program.

Metropolitan’s Boys’ Scholarship Program provides tuition-free dance training to over 50 boys each year, in of the largest programs for young men in the country. Boys hone technical skills, strength, and athleticism, mentored by distinguished male faculty. The self-described “MET MEN” also build valuable life skills of teamwork, tenacity and time management. Over 300 boys have benefited from $1 million in tuition- free ballet studies, over the past 20 years.

In partnership with The School District of Philadelphia, Metropolitan faculty work in K – 2 classrooms, providing an innovative Kinetic Literacy Program, directly linked to the Core standards in Math and English Language Arts. Movement is used to enliven the curriculum, advancing math and reading skills, in an atmosphere of joyful partnership. Since 2008, Met faculty have had the honor of engaging over 4,800 students in their classrooms. Students also attend an annual performance with choreography based on children’s literature, which is incorporated into their classroom studies.