Brooklyn’s Judith R. Fishman to become Mark Morris Dance Group’s chairman of the board

Current Chairman David Resnicow to Serve as Vice Chairman

March 31, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Judith R. Fishman. Photo by Beowulf Sheehan

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The Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) announced Friday that Judith R. Fishman has been elected chairman of the board as of April 1. David Resnicow, board chairman (2009-2017), will become vice chair, to serve alongside existing Vice Chairman Mark Selinger, according to the group’s release.

“I’m inspired by the opportunity to support the world’s greatest living choreographer and enhance the organization’s outstanding education and community programs. I look forward to building on David’s and our fellow board members’ work in leading this exemplary institution to its next stage of success,” said Fishman.

Fishman is an avid supporter of the arts, leading philanthropist and strong advocate for the Brooklyn community. She served as chairman for the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, spearheading its Living Legacy Plan, and as a member of the board of Brooklyn Botanic Garden and past president of Brooklyn Heights Synagogue. She joined the Mark Morris Dance Group’s board in 2012 and has served as a member of its Executive Committee, Marketing and Public Relations, and Fundraising committees. Fishman is married to Alan H. Fishman, chairman emeritus of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Brooklyn has been their home for more than 40 years.

“It’s with great pleasure we make this announcement. Judith has been a stalwart supporter of Mark’s work for many years. It is a tremendous complement to the company’s far-ranging work to have her leadership as Board Chairman,” said Nancy Umanoff, Mark Morris Dance Group executive director.

Fishman will lead the Mark Morris Dance Group’s board which represents a broad range of talent and expertise from various regions.

Mark Morris has been hailed as the “the most successful and influential choreographer alive and indisputably the most musical” (The New York Times).

Formed in 1980, live music and community engagement are vital components of the Dance Group. It has toured with its own musicians, the MMDG Music Ensemble, since 1996, and regularly collaborates with orchestras and opera companies around the world.

The Mark Morris Dance Center was opened in 2001 to provide a home for the Dance Group, rehearsal space for the dance community, programs for local children and seniors and dance classes for students of all ages and abilities. The Dance Center and its programs serve 17,000 people each year both on-site and off-site in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx.