Omayra, a 7th grader at the Connelly Middle School has been awarded the Respira/Luz Scholarship for Dance, Spring 2012.  Thanks to the generosity of Martha Tornay at the East Village Dance Project’s Ave. C Studio, she will participate in both Ballet and Modern dance classes twice a week.  Omayra is an outstanding student, confident, and articulate.  She hopes to attend LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts.

[photo by Catherine Roosevelt]

Martha Tornay is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and a recipient of the Fine Arts Award in Dance Technique and Choreography.  Martha has over 3 decades of intensive classical ballet studies with masters such as Mme. Gabriela Darvash, Gretchen Ward Warren, and Robert Brassel.  After performing for over 18 years as a soloist with regional and international ballet and modern companies including Newport News Ballet, Israel Ballet, and the Robert Kovich Company, she founded the East Village Dance Project.  In addition, she teaches dance at New York University’s Experimental Theater department.