Our hearts are full with pride! Thank you, Port Washington, for helping support our mission to enhance and enrich the arts and arts education in Port Washington public schools and the community. And for coming out to celebrate and honor two incredible difference makers in our community, Olga Berest and Emily Baxter!
Our Honorees
Olga Berest
Olga Berest, Founder and Director of the Berest Dance Center in Port Washington, developed her early love of dance as a child in Manhasset with her teachers Roy Kreiser and Brenda Morgan. She continued training in NYC at the American Ballet Theatre School and the Martha Graham School, as well as through college while she earned her B.S. in Speech and Hearing Pathology and her M.S. in Special Education. An innovator in integrating Dance in Education, she initiated a program in the 1960s at Willowbrook State Hospital that combined communication skills with teaching children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Down’s Syndrome. In 1979 she began the Berest Dance Center in Manhasset while working in the Manhasset public schools as a movement teacher and consultant in the Arts In Education Resource Directory. Before long the Berest Dance Center demanded her full-time attention, with over 100 classes, a faculty of 12 and a rotating roster of guest artists. Olga founded the Youth Dance Theater in 1982 for students interested in developing performing skills and has since created over 100 children’s ballets presented in concerts, schools, and community functions. In December 2005, the Youth Dance Theater presented a holiday festival "Making Spirits Bright" joined by several local youth dance companies. This annual show raises toys for the Toys for Tots program which donates gifts for children in need. Olga Berest presented the very first Celebration of Dance festival in 1998. This was the beginning of a collaborative forum bringing together the leaders of dance education on Long Island. Celebration of Dance has since been taken over by the Long Island Dance Consortium and is now presented annually at the Long Island School for the Arts (formerly BOCES). Olga continues to take an active role in making Long Island a resource for dance education. https://www.berestdance.com
Olga Berest, Founder and Director of the Berest Dance Center in Port Washington, developed her early love of dance as a child in Manhasset with her teachers Roy Kreiser and Brenda Morgan. She continued training in NYC at the American Ballet Theatre School and the Martha Graham School, as well as through college while she earned her B.S. in Speech and Hearing Pathology and her M.S. in Special Education. An innovator in integrating Dance in Education, she initiated a program in the 1960s at Willowbrook State Hospital that combined communication skills with teaching children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Down’s Syndrome. In 1979 she began the Berest Dance Center in Manhasset while working in the Manhasset public schools as a movement teacher and consultant in the Arts In Education Resource Directory. Before long the Berest Dance Center demanded her full-time attention, with over 100 classes, a faculty of 12 and a rotating roster of guest artists. Olga founded the Youth Dance Theater in 1982 for students interested in developing performing skills and has since created over 100 children’s ballets presented in concerts, schools, and community functions. In December 2005, the Youth Dance Theater presented a holiday festival "Making Spirits Bright" joined by several local youth dance companies. This annual show raises toys for the Toys for Tots program which donates gifts for children in need. Olga Berest presented the very first Celebration of Dance festival in 1998. This was the beginning of a collaborative forum bringing together the leaders of dance education on Long Island. Celebration of Dance has since been taken over by the Long Island Dance Consortium and is now presented annually at the Long Island School for the Arts (formerly BOCES). Olga continues to take an active role in making Long Island a resource for dance education. https://www.berestdance.com
Emily Baxter
Founder's Award Recipient
Emily Baxter is a true native of Port Washington, born and raised. After completing her degree at Emory University in Atlanta, she returned home to Long Island, landing her dream job as a teacher at Sousa Elementary School. She has been teaching at Sousa ever since, inspiring young minds for 21 years. The arts have long been a significant part of her life, and counts some of most meaningful childhood memories as those performing on the Schreiber High School stage, and the being the first student asked to perform the national anthem at the Schreiber graduation, a tradition still alive today. When she attended school in Port Washington, the only after-school musical theater experiences were the high school productions. As an educator, one of Emily's primary goals was to find ways to expand these experiences to Port Washington's youngest students. She developed Sousa Stars in her first year at the school, where over 60 4th and 5th graders put on full stage musicals. But, after a few years, funding for the program was unfortunately cut and program discontinued. When HEARTS PW was founded, Emily immediately got involved to help better her community through the arts. As both a teacher and a community member, she has been actively involved in Portfest, the Red Party Committee, Dancing Classrooms and the Curtains Up Workshop. As a parent, she has watched her own children, Amy and Ryan, benefit from incredible HEARTS PW offerings such as: Curtains Up, Schreiber Theater Company , Pop Choir, Audio/Theater Tech Club, Role Playing WWII Literature, Night of 1,000 Strings, District Choral Festival, and Schreiber A Capella. Emily is grateful to be part of community organization whose mission is to add meaningful value to children's lives and our community by supporting, promoting and enriching the arts in Port Washington and its' public schools.
Founder's Award Recipient
Emily Baxter is a true native of Port Washington, born and raised. After completing her degree at Emory University in Atlanta, she returned home to Long Island, landing her dream job as a teacher at Sousa Elementary School. She has been teaching at Sousa ever since, inspiring young minds for 21 years. The arts have long been a significant part of her life, and counts some of most meaningful childhood memories as those performing on the Schreiber High School stage, and the being the first student asked to perform the national anthem at the Schreiber graduation, a tradition still alive today. When she attended school in Port Washington, the only after-school musical theater experiences were the high school productions. As an educator, one of Emily's primary goals was to find ways to expand these experiences to Port Washington's youngest students. She developed Sousa Stars in her first year at the school, where over 60 4th and 5th graders put on full stage musicals. But, after a few years, funding for the program was unfortunately cut and program discontinued. When HEARTS PW was founded, Emily immediately got involved to help better her community through the arts. As both a teacher and a community member, she has been actively involved in Portfest, the Red Party Committee, Dancing Classrooms and the Curtains Up Workshop. As a parent, she has watched her own children, Amy and Ryan, benefit from incredible HEARTS PW offerings such as: Curtains Up, Schreiber Theater Company , Pop Choir, Audio/Theater Tech Club, Role Playing WWII Literature, Night of 1,000 Strings, District Choral Festival, and Schreiber A Capella. Emily is grateful to be part of community organization whose mission is to add meaningful value to children's lives and our community by supporting, promoting and enriching the arts in Port Washington and its' public schools.
2020 RED PARTY COMMITTEE
Jane Ronis, co-chair
Nissa Fine, co-chair
Emily Baxter
Melissa Campanelli Melissa Chernosky
Lauren Gilbert Brenna Kolomer
Marjorie Leff Leyalanny Mata
Elizabeth Picciuto
Michele Posner Goldman
Pamela Schindler-Thomsen
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES
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The Jitterbug - $5,000 Level
10 complimentary tickets to the Red Party. Name included in all social media marketing. Name will remain on HEARTS website for one year. Name and message will run on digital journal all evening. DJ area signage, in addition to signage at the bar. The Boogie Woogie - $2,500 Level 6 complimentary tickets to the Red Party. Name included in all social media marketing. Name will remain on HEARTS website for one year. Name and message will run on digital journal all evening. Signage at the bar. |
The Twist - $1,000 Level
4 complimentary tickets to the Red Party. Name included in all social media marketing. Name and message will run on digital journal all evening. The Calypso - $500 Level 2 complimentary tickets to the Red Party. Name included in all social media marketing. All sponsor names will be included in a full listing that will be distributed at the event. For sponsorship questions, please call Michele Posner Goldman at 516-580-2201 |
Digital Journal Details
Send a message from the HEART, give a shout out to any of our HEARTS volunteers or a HEARTS program that's meaningful to you, or share a business ad through HEARTS Red Party Digital Journal.
The Red Party Digital Journal will be shown on a continuous loop shown on a large monitor throughout the event.
Messages can be purchased by filling out the above form on this page, with or without purchasing tickets. Option to submit a high resolution image (JPG, 300 dpi or greater) upon receiving email confirmation.
$50 per ad/message.
Please submit your Digital Journal ad or message by February 11, 2020.
Send a message from the HEART, give a shout out to any of our HEARTS volunteers or a HEARTS program that's meaningful to you, or share a business ad through HEARTS Red Party Digital Journal.
The Red Party Digital Journal will be shown on a continuous loop shown on a large monitor throughout the event.
Messages can be purchased by filling out the above form on this page, with or without purchasing tickets. Option to submit a high resolution image (JPG, 300 dpi or greater) upon receiving email confirmation.
$50 per ad/message.
Please submit your Digital Journal ad or message by February 11, 2020.
Our friends at Delux Transportation are pleased to offer a 10% discount to Red Party guests, helping you get to and from the event, enjoy some drinks, and not worry about driving.
For more information about Delux please visit www.deluxtransportation.com. To book please call 516-883-1900 and reference discount code REDPARTY2020.
For more information about Delux please visit www.deluxtransportation.com. To book please call 516-883-1900 and reference discount code REDPARTY2020.
Contact [email protected] for other questions about tickets, sponsorships, and the digital journal.
Can't make it to The Red Party, but still want to make a difference?
Make a donation!
