A little something extra...
Alice Bloch receives Annelise Mertz Visionary Artist Award
Longtime member of the MAAE Board of Directors, Alice Bloch, was named the recipient of the - 2020 Annelise Mertz Visionary Artist Award.
About Annelise Mertz: With a single-minded determination to bring modern dance to St. Louis. Annelise Mertz began teaching at Washington University in 1957, bringing the dance program from the obscurity into national prominence among dancers. Ms. Mertz was a dancer, choreographer, teacher and crusader who nurtured thousands of dance students, including some who went on to become nationally known. With a $1,000 grant from the Missouri Arts Council in 1981, and using her own money when necessary, Ms. Mertz started what today is Dance St. Louis. The award which bears her name will be presented to Alice Bloch as part of an upcoming Dance St. Louis Performance. The presentation will be made by Alice’s dance teacher and coach, the renowned Isadora Duncan dancer Lori Bellilove.
The award will be presented to Alice Bloch at the Dance St. Louis Performance "A Night of Ballet Stars 3" on November 6, 2021. The presenter of Alice Bloch's award will be renowned dancer and choreographer LORI BELILOVE has earned an international reputation as the premier interpreter and ambassador of the dance of Isadora Duncan. Belilove was coached for performance and technique by 1st generation Duncan Dancers Anna Duncan and Irma Duncan, and with 2nd generation Duncan Dancers Julia Levien, Hortense Kooluris, and Mignon Garland. She is the leading dancer in the award-winning PBS documentary Isadora Duncan: Movement From the Soul and has held residencies at such distinguished institutions as Harvard University, The Juilliard School, Northwestern University, Smith College, The Ailey School, among others. As founder and Artistic Director of The Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation & Company, Lori is currently Artistic Director of the newly established Duncan Dance Academy in Shenzhen, China, with affiliate branches in 15 countries.
Your friends and colleagues are so proud of you!
Congratulations, Alice!
Alice Bloch performing Isadora Duncan choreography
as coached by Lori Bellilove
