Tickets: FREE
The American Dance Festival (ADF) will present the 2025 Balasaraswati/Joy Anne Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching and its $5,000 honorarium to dance educators Lynda Davis and Clay Taliaferro. A ceremony honoring their contributions to the dance field will take place on Sunday, June 29, 2025, at 5:00 PM at The Fruit in Durham, North Carolina.
“Their remarkable careers in education have impacted and inspired generations, both in and beyond the studio,” said Nile H. Russell, ADF’s Director of Education. “By fostering care, curiosity, and intellect, they create a space for rediscovery, empowerment, and the offering of one’s authentic self. Ms. Davis and Mr. Taliaferro continue to remind us of the transformative power of movement to reveal and liberate the soul.”
Lynda Davis is a renowned dancer, choreographer, and educator with a strong connection to ADF. She co-directed ADF’s Dance Professionals Workshops from 1988 to 1995 with Martha Meyers. As part of ADF’s International Linkage Program, she taught in China, Korea, India, Mozambique, and Russia. She also served as Artistic Director and principal choreographer for the Centre Dance Ensemble and Transition Dance Company sponsored by the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, currently known as Trinity Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She has conducted additional choreographic and teaching residencies throughout the United States and parts of South Africa, France, Italy, Ireland, and England. Davis has also performed with the Gloria Newman Dance Theatre and the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company and co-directed the Theatre Dance Trio with Clay Taliaferro and Carol Warner. A recipient of the Florida Dance Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Davis served on the faculty of Florida State University for 35 years, earning numerous teaching honors. Her recent creative work focuses on arts in healthcare, social justice, and community practice.
Clay Taliaferro, an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, and teacher, has had a distinguished career spanning over six decades. He began his professional teaching at ADF in 1969 and continued collaborating with the festival, influencing countless dancers and choreographers. He has worked to remount the José Limón Dance Company’s repertoire and contributed to the ADF International Linkage Program, sharing his expertise in modern dance worldwide. In addition to his work with leading choreographers, Taliaferro has contributed to dance education as a professor at Duke University, receiving multiple honors such as the Duke University Richard K. Lublin Distinguished Award. He was invited in 1987 by the Duke University Dance Program as an artist in residence and remained as professor of practice of dance for 20 years. Taliaferro was hailed by the university’s president, Richard Brodhead, to be “the epitome of what we want all professors in the arts to be.” He was also awarded the North Carolina School of the Arts Outstanding Teacher Award, the 1998 African American Dance Ensemble Artist/Humanitarian Award, the 2005 North Carolina Dance Alliance Annual Award, and the honorary degree, Doctor of Fine Arts, from Rhode Island College in 1986. In recognition of his vast professional accomplishments, the Alumni Affairs Committee of the Boston Conservatory unanimously chose Taliaferro for the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award. Additionally, he was honored with the National Dance Education Organization’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. With a rich legacy of choreographing and teaching globally, Taliaferro continues to inspire others through his work and passion.