Ben Sommers
   HOME





Ben Sommers
Ben Sommers (1906–1985) was a leading philanthropic figure in the world of dance, and president of the Capezio dance and theatre shoe company from 1940 to his death. He established the Capezio Foundation in 1951, which focused on dance, especially the regional ballet movement. In 1957, he founded the Capezio Awards which recognise the lifetime achievements of those in dance, including Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey and Agnes de Mille. Sommers was also founder of the Association of American Dance Companies. In 1978, the same year he managed to persuade the United States Postal Service to issue stamps commemorating dance, he established National Dance Week, followed by International Dance Week in 1985. Born in New York City, Sommers became a stock boy at Capezio at the age of 14 and worked his way up to become company president in 1940. One of his earliest achievements was supplying shoes to the 1923 Ziegfeld Follies production. In 1962 Sommers married Estelle Loshin, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Coty Award
The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awards were discontinued with the last presentation of the awards in September 1984; the CFDA Awards fulfill a similar role. It was casually referred to as "fashion's Oscars" because it once held great importance within the fashion industry and the award ceremonies were glitzy galas. History The Coty (Avery Nabavian Award) Awards were conceived and created by Coty, Inc. Executive Vice President, Jean Despres, founder of The Fragrance Foundation and FiFi Awards, and Grover Whalen (a member of the New York City Mayor's Committee, and president of the 1939 New York World's Fair). The fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert was employed to promote and produce the awards. The awards were given solely to designers based in America, unlike the Neiman Marcus ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


National Dance Week
National Dance Week (NDW) is an annual event in the United States sponsored by the United Dance Merchants of America to increase public awareness and appreciation of various forms of dance. The event is coordinated by an organization under the same name headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which operates under the sponsorship of the UDMA and currently seeks for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization status The Coalition for National Dance Week was formed in 1981 by a group of dance related organizations to bring greater recognition to dance as an art form. Since 1991 the NDW is sponsored by the UDMA. NDW volunteers host more than a thousand events nationwide during the observation. National Dance Week 2009 Dance Week 2009 was from April 24-May 3, 2009. National Dance Week 2007 National Dance Week 2007 was from April 20 through the 29th. Activities scheduled for 2007 included community dance performances, free classes, an essay contest, and an attempt to break the Guin ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

1985 Deaths
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a new agreement on fishing rights. * January 7 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches '' Sakigake'', Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union. * January 15 – Tancredo Neves is elected president of Brazil by the Congress, ending the 21-year military rule. * January 27 – The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is formed, in Tehran. * January 28 – The charity single record "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa. February * February 4 – The border between Gibraltar and Spain reopens for the first time since Francisco Franco closed it in 1969. * February 5 – Australia cancels its involv ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

1906 Births
Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, and establish a national assembly, the National Consultative Assembly, Majlis. * January 16–April 7 – The Algeciras Conference convenes, to resolve the First Moroccan Crisis between French Third Republic, France and German Empire, Germany. * January 22 – The strikes a reef off Vancouver Island, Canada, killing over 100 (officially 136) in the ensuing disaster. * January 31 – The 1906 Ecuador–Colombia earthquake, Ecuador–Colombia earthquake (8.8 on the Moment magnitude scale), and associated tsunami, cause at least 500 deaths. * February 7 – is launched, sparking a Anglo-German naval arms race, naval race between Britain and Germany. * February 11 ** Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical ''Vehementer Nos'', de ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450 bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the region's many university-level academic medical centers. The hospital is owned by Northwell Health, the largest private employer in New York (state), the state of New York. LHH serves as a clinical campus for the Zucker School of Medicine, which is owned by the health system in a partnership with Hofstra University. It was founded in 1857 as the German Dispensary. It currently consists of ten buildings and has occupied the present site in Manhattan since 1869, when it was known as the German Hospital. In 2007, the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital was incorporated into Lenox Hill Hospital. The hospital is located on a city block bounded on the north and south by East 77th Street (Manhattan), 77th and 76th Street (Manhattan), 76th Street ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Spandex
Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether- polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont. Name The name ''spandex'', which is an anagram of the word "expands", is the preferred name in North America. In continental Europe, it is referred to by variants of ''elastane''. It is primarily known as ''Lycra'' in the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. Brand names for spandex include Lycra (made by The Lycra Company, previously a division of DuPont Textiles and Interiors), Elaspan (The Lycra Company), Acepora ( Taekwang Group), Creora (Hyosung), INVIYA ( Indorama Corporation), ROICA and Dorlastan (Asahi Kasei), Linel (Fillattice), and ESPA ( Toyobo). Production Unlike many other synthetic fibers, spandex cannot be melt-processed because the polymer degrades upon melting. Spandex fibers are produced by several spinning technologies. Typically ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air''. Founding and history Inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris, the Ziegfeld Follies were conceived and mounted by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., reportedly at the suggestion of his then-wife, the actress and singer Anna Held. The shows' producers were turn-of-the-twentieth-century producing titans Klaw and Erlanger. The Follies were a series of lavish revues, something between later Broadway shows and the more elaborate high-class vaudeville and variety show. The first follies, '' The Follies of 1907'', was produced that year at the '' Jardin de Paris'' roof theatre. During the Follies era, many of the top entertainers, including W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Josephine Baker, Fanny Brice, Ann Pennington, Bert Williams, Ev ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


International Dance Week
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The Three Degrees album), 1975 *''International'', 2018 album by L'Algérino Songs * The Internationale, the left-wing anthem * "International" (Chase & Status song), 2014 * "International", by Adventures in Stereo from ''Monomania'', 2000 * "International", by Brass Construction from ''Renegades'', 1984 * "International", by Thomas Leer from ''The Scale of Ten'', 1985 * "International", by Kevin Michael from ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * "International", by McGuinness Flint from ''McGuinness Flint'', 1970 * "International", by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark from '' Dazzle Ships'', 1983 * "International (Serious)", by Estelle from '' All of Me'', 2012 Politics * Internationalism (politics) * Political international, any ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for providing mail, postal service in the United States, its insular areas and Compact of Free Association, associated states. It is one of a few government agencies Postal Clause, explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States. As of March 29, 2024, the USPS has 525,377 career employees and nearly 114,623 pre-career employees. The USPS has a monopoly on traditional Letter (message), letter delivery within the U.S. and operates under a Universal service, universal service obligation (USO), both of which are defined across a broad set of legal mandates, which obligate it to provide uniform price and quality across the entirety of its service area. The Post ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Neiman Marcus Fashion Award
The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers. Recipients of the Neiman Marcus Awards include haute couture, couturiers, non-American-based designers, journalists, manufacturers, and celebrities and style icons who had had a significant personal influence upon fashion such as Grace Kelly and Grace Mirabella. The award was typically presented to multiple recipients each year, rather than to a single individual, although Adrian (costume designer), Adrian was the sole winner in 1943, a feat repeated in 1957 by Coco Chanel. From 1969 the awards became increasingly intermittent, with ceremonies held in 1973, 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1995, the last year in which the awards were presented. For the final ceremony, the founder, Stanley Marcus, received one of his own awards. Award winners This is a complete list ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Agnes De Mille
Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors. Her mother, Anna Angela George, was the daughter of Henry George, the economist. On her father's side, Agnes was the granddaughter of playwrights Henry Churchill de Mille and Matilda Beatrice deMille. Her paternal grandmother was of German-Jewish descent. She had a love for acting and originally wanted to be an actress, but was told that she was "not pretty enough", so she turned her attention to dance. As a child, she had longed to dance, but dance at this time was considered more of an activity, rather than a viable career option, so her parents refused to allow her to dance. She did not seriously consider dancing as a career until after she graduated from college. When ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (later Ailey School) as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance. Ailey's work fused theater, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with Black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that is credited with spreading global awareness of Black life in America. His choreographic masterpiece '' Revelations'' is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. On July 15, 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution designating AAADT a "vital American cultural ambassador to the World". That same year, in recognition of AAADT's 50th anniversary, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared December 4 "Alvin Ailey Day" in New York City, whi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]