Dancing all her life, an East New York dancer is going to be awarded with the Princess Grace award this fall.
Tamisha Guy will receive the award at a gala ceremony in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Monaco on Oct. 24.
The Princess Grace award is an award that artistic directors can nominate emerging artists, dancers, and filmmakers for. The prestigious award also celebrates its recipients with fellowships and scholarships to pursue careers in these fields – a charitable action the awards namesake, Princess of Monaco and Hollywood actress Grace Kelly — often did for artists.
“To win an award is a super amazing experience especially having support of my boss and colleagues,” said Guy, contemporary dancer.
Nominated for the award by her boss and choreographer, Kyle Abraham, Guy will be given a fellowship for his dance company Abraham.In.Motion.
“[Kyle’s] work speaks to me and it goes along with my movements and aesthetics,” said Guy. “As an artistic director he is a driving force – he allows us to give him insight.”
Born in Trinidad, Guy came to Brooklyn at 10 years old and began formal dancing soon after, learning ballet at Ballet Tech. Afterwards she attended La Guardia High School and was introduced to other types of dancing, such as hip-hop and contemporary and modern dance, which she does now. Walking the halls of the famed arts school, Guy says her immediate feelings of overwhelmingness helped her gain a confidence and a desire to dance more.
“I was overwhelmed with such a large school and finding my way was also a challenge,” said Guy. “But there’s a freedom that I feel when I’m on stage. I have the freedom to express myself through movement — those are things that words cannot express.”
Upon completing her studies at La Guardia, she took a full year off from dancing to take academic courses, which Guy says was to challenge her love for dancing. Doing so, helped her decide her future.
“I didn’t dance to test myself and to see if I was capable of giving it up,” said Guy. “I had a few moments where I couldn’t believe I was doing this, but I needed to see if it was something I wanted to do.”
Testing college life without dance was an eye-opening experience said Guy which made her realize it was not the path she wanted. Soon after, she received an acceptance letter from the State University of New York at Purchase where she double majored in dance and arts management. Guy does not regret the experience, and said it made her desire to keep dancing stronger.
“Taking solely academic classes and doing dance was really hard for me,” she said.
Guy hopes the fellowship and receiving the award will open new avenues in dance that she can pursue.
“I just want to continue doing what I love. I enjoy sharing and being a part of a wonderful dance community, and searching for ways to give back to my community,” said Guy. “I look forward to the future.”
