The 2027 Martha Hill Awards Gala
On Monday, February 22, 2027, 6pm
at
our new venue
SONY HALL in midtown Manhattan
we will honor Lucinda Childs and Milton Myers
with
The Lifetime Achievement Award
and
Hope Boykin and Dionne Figgins
with
The Mid-Career Award
If you are not already on our mailing list, please join HERE
You have the option of being one of our High Tier Donors
Your name will be included in our Gala Program
The tiers are as follows:
Diamond Table for 10 guests @ $10,000
Platinum Table for ten guests @ $5000
Golden Table for ten guests @ $3000
Benefactor @ $1200 per person
Patron @ $800 per person
Sponsor @ $400 per person
Or you can purchase a general ticket:
Donor @ $250 per person*
*ATTENTION
On February 15th the price of this ticket goes up to
$300
Please also consider sponsoring a student's attendance:
Students @ $150 each
If you are unable to attend but would still like to support the gala,
any amount is appreciated. Just click HERE
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!
More detailed information will be sent to you via email as we get closer to the event!
Our Gala features an Open Bar and a Three Course Meal
If you would like to purchase an ad to be placed in the Gala Program,
go HERE
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The 2027 Awardees
Photo: Cameron Wittig
Lifetime Achievement
Lucinda Childs attended Sarah Lawrence college 1958-62 and began her career as choreographer in the early 1960s, as a member of the seminal Judson Dance Theater. She formed her own company in 1973 and three years later was featured in the landmark avant-garde opera Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson. In 1979, Childs choreographed one of her most enduring works, Dance, with music by Philip Glass and film décor by Sol LeWitt, for which she was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. Dance has toured internationally with the Lucinda Childs Dance Company and was added to the repertory of the Lyon Opera Ballet in 2016. In addition to work for her own group, Childs has choreographed over thirty works for major ballet companies. She has also directed and choreographed Philip Glass’s Akhnaten for l’Opéra de Nice Côte d’Azur and in September of 2025 she directed a new production of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha. In 2016, in an exhibit titled Nothing Personal, Childs’s choreographic scores were shown at the Thaddeus Ropac Gallery in collaboration with the Centre Nationale de la Danse, to which she has donated her archive. Childs holds the rank of Commandeur in France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017 she received the Golden Lion award from the Venice Biennale and the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival award for lifetime achievement and received an honorary doctorate from the Université Côte d’Azur in 2021.
Ms. Child's presenter was TBA
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Lifetime Achievement
Milton Myers received his BFA from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He was a founding member, performer and assistant to the director with the Joyce Trisler Danscompany, and performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Upon the death of Joyce Trisler, he became the artistic director of the Joyce Tristler Danscompany for seven years. He has taught for Ballet Hispanico, New Danish Dance Theatre, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Bat-Dor, Batsheva, Ballet Stagium in Sao-Paulo, Brazil, Ballet Creole in Canada, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, the Juilliard School, North Carolina School of the Arts, Brown University, Howard University in Washington DC, the New York LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, Ailey Fordham University, Steps on Broadway and Peridance. For twenty six years.Mr. Myers has been director of the modern and contemporary programs at Jacob’s Pillow. Mr. Myers was commissioned to choreograph Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert for Philadanco and the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, the 55th anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra with Philadanco at Academy of Music and for Ailey 2 and Jessye Norman at Carnegie Hall. His choreography has earned him recognition and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council, CAPS Choreography Award (funded by the Rockefeller Foundation), Phillip Morris New Works Fund, Dance USA/Philadelphia Dance Alliance and Jacob’s Pillow. The International Association of Blacks in Dance honored Milton Myers for his artistry and contribution.
Mr. Myers presenter TBA
Mid-Career
Hope Boykin is a choreographer, educator and former member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, Boykin is a three-time recipient of the American Dance Festival’s Young Tuition Scholarship. She attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. before moving to New York City to study at The Ailey School. Boykin worked as assistant to choreographers Milton Myers and the late Talley Beatty and was an original member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She danced for many years with Philadanco. Ms. Boykin has choreographed for Philadanco, University of The Arts, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Minnesota Dance Theater, Ballet East, The Ailey School, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and HopeBoykinDance. In 2019, she joined the faculty of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance as an Artist in Residence for the 2019-2020 academic year. Awards include a Bessie for Outstanding Performer and a choreographic fellowship from Urban Bush Women.
Ms. Boykin's presenter TBA
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Mid-Career
Dionne Figgins, was born in Memphis, TN and grew up in Washington DC, training at Jones-Haywood School of Ballet and the Dance Institute of Washington. She briefly attended Goucher College, where she was cast as the lead Russian girl in Balanchine’s Serenade by NYCB soloist Zippora Karz. Ms. Karz encouraged Ms. Figgins to audition for Dance Theatre of Harlem and in 2000, Ms. Figgins joined DTH’s corps de ballet. With DTH, Figgins performed leading roles in Agon, Serenade, Four Temperaments, and Concerto Barocco. Ms. Figgins has also performed with Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Forces of Nature Dance Company. In 2004, Ms. Figgins turned her sights to Broadway during a hiatus at Dance Theatre of Harlem, and was cast in the original Broadway company of Hot Feet. She has also appeared in the original casts of Memphis the Musical (2010 Tony winner for Best Musical), Motown: the Musical (Diana Ross understudy and dance captain), served as assistant choreographer for Leap of Faith on Broadway, and played Daisy Parker in A Wonderful World: A Louis Armstrong Musical. Ms. Figgins’ work in the musical Smokey Joe’s Cafe has garnered her an Ovation Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical, Chita Rivera Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in an Off-Broadway Musical, and a Chita Rivera Award for Best Ensemble in an Off-Broadway Musical. She is the co-founder of Broadway Serves, an affiliate organization of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and a former member of the Tony Nominating Committee. Currently, she is in her 6th year as the Artistic Director of Ballet Tech in NYC.
Ms. Figgins' presenter TBA
Guest Host
Guest Host TBA
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High Tier Donors
(in formation)
Diamond Table
Platinum Table
Golden Table
Sponsors
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Sponsors for Students
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Honorary Committee
(in formation)