4663777 ACR 20-129, "Therrell C. Smith Schol of Dance 65th Anniversary Recognition Resolution of 2013"

 

 

 

 

 

A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 20-129

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

November 5, 2013

 

 

 

We are proud to recognize Therrell C. Smith, the renowned ballet choreographer and owner of The Therrell Smith School of Dance, for her 65 years of commitment and dedicated service to the residents of the District of Columbia, and to declare November 9, 2013, as "Therrell C. Smith Day" in the District of Columbia.

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith was born in Washington D. C., and lives in her Logan Circle home that has been in her family since the 1930s;

 

 

 

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WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith began her ballet training in Washington D.C. at the age of

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith attended Dunbar Senior High School, where she choreographed many school plays and operettas;

 

WHEREAS, during her high school years she also volunteered as a dance instructor for the Southeast Settlement House;

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she spent many of her busy summers as a dance instructor at the Abraham Lincoln Center Camp in Wisconsin;

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. .Smith, after graduating from Fisk University, became the head counselor and dramatics teacher at Camp Atwater in Massachusetts;

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith continued her ballet training at the Ballet Arts School, Carnegie Hall, in New York City;

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith traveled to Paris, where she trained under the famed Mathilde  Kzchesinska;

 

 

 

 

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith, in 1948, held her first class at the LeDroit Park Nursery School, where her sister, Mathilde S. Gray, was director;

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith's dance classes grew and required more space, so she purchased her first building located at 49 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W;

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith, in 1960, with over 200 children attending, found it necessary to expand her school for a second time;

 

WHEREAS, the school moved to its present location, 2013 Bunker Hill Road, N.E., where classes are still being held today.

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith, for the past 39 years, has worked with thousands of children in the Washington D.C. public schools with funding provided by the Thomas & Birdie C. Smith Arts Foundation;

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith taught at several elementary schools in the District, including Seaton, Shaed, K.C. Lewis, Gage-Eckington, Cleveland, Emery, Harrison, Wheatly, Amidon, J.O. Wilson, and Brookland; and

 

WHEREAS, Therrell C. Smith continues to instill in children an appreciation for ballet and the arts and continues to emphasize the importance of respecting one's body.

 

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this

resolution may be cited as the "Therrell C. Smith School of Dance 65th Anniversary Recognition Resolution   of2013".

 

Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia honors and salutes Therrell C. Smith for her commitment to the arts and declares November 9, 2013, as "Therrell C. Smith Day" in the District of Columbia.

 

Sec.3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.