LEADERSHIP

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Get to know us. Reach out. Be heard.

Robert Neubert, President
Board member AIDS Foundation Chicago, former professional Musical Theatre Director, dance advocate

Julie Burman Kaplan, Vice President
Former dancer with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Co-Founder River North Dance Chicago, Owner/Director River North Dance Studio, teacher Ruth Page Center for the Arts

Andrew Kanfer, Treasurer
25-year finance and consulting career, former Co-Chair Dance for Life, dance enthusiast / patron / advocate

Paula Friedman, Secretary
Former dancer, Attorney (retired), AIDS Foundation of Chicago Board Member

Sarita Connelly
Non-profit executive at start-up accelerator Bunker Labs, Adjunct Instructor of Dance of Loyola University; Advisory Board Member of Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts, Board Member Oak Park Arts Council, guest teaching artist Joffrey Ballet Chicago Community engagement, Former dancer with Melissa Thodos and Dancers and Joseph Holmes Dance Theatre, performed in 11 consecutive DFL finales

Sandi Cooksey
Former dancer with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Twyla Tharp Dance and Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago; Respiratory Therapist at Rush University Medical Center; Clinical Educator with ZOLL Medical

Randy Duncan
Choreographer, dance teacher, Chair of Dance Department at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, Yale Repertory Theatre choreographer, former Artistic Director Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, DFL choreographer for 29 years

Patti Eylar
Former dancer with Chicago City Ballet and Ballet Chicago, Chicago Ballet Arts Co-Director, See Chicago Dance, Joffrey Ballet and Auditorium Theatre Board Member

Mark Ferguson Gomez
Former dancer with Gus Giordano Dance Chicago, Joseph Holmes Dance Theatre and River North Dance Chicago; teacher; dance advocate

Elizabeth Halajian
Interlochen Arts Academy and Butler University alumna, former dancer with San Diego Ballet and Charleston Ballet Theatre, Director of Development for the Harris Theater in Millennium Park, lifelong arts supporter

Len Mayersky
Former board member for the Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Northalsted Business Alliance. Currently is the Board Chair for Hope For The Day. Vice President of Business Banking at Fifth Third Bank

Harriet Ross
Former Associate Director Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, former GM of Joffrey Ballet, founding Managing Director Arpino/Joffrey Foundation, Co-Founder Chicago Dancers United, dance coach and creator of The Dancers’ Fund

Sara Stewart Schumann
Former dancer and ballet master with the Chicago Lyric Opera, former soloist Ruth Page’s Arie Crown Nutcracker, Funds’ Counsel for the Chicago & Vicinity Laborers’ Funds, Artistic Director Madison Ballet, freelance choreographer and dance instructor

Brian Smuts
Designer, Senior Project Director at Gensler, former Board of Directors DIFFA Chicago, dance advocate

Aaron Weiss
Supervising Attorney at the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office. Served on the Ambassador’s Committee of DFL for over 15 years. Co-Chaired DFL for its 25th and 26th years.

HISTORY

Having lost many close friends and dance colleagues due to HIV and AIDS, Keith Elliott, a member of Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre (JHCDT), felt it was time for Chicago dancers to take an active role in preventing the spread of the disease. Keith’s idea — both brilliant and simple — was to bring Chicago’s dance community together for one night…to Dance For Life.

In 1991, Keith and Todd Kiech began working to make Dance For Life a reality, enlisting JHCDT associate artistic director Harriet Ross to give the event creative force and impact. Elliott also asked HIV/AIDS community activist and skilled fundraiser Danny Kopelson, along with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s executive director Gail Kalver, to join him as co-founders.

The inaugural Dance for Life was held in June 1992 at the Organic Theatre. Every seat was sold. In following years, annual Dance For Life performances filled the Athenaeum Theatre, the Skyline Stage at Navy Pier and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, each selling out weeks in advance. Dance For Life is proud to now be presented at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.

Today, more than 37 Chicago-based, professional dance companies and numerous choreographers have been presented by Dance For Life, supporting and showcasing the city’s unique diversity of talent, dance traditions and styles. Dancers, companies and choreographers generously donate their time, energy and artistry to the cause. Dance For Life remains the only annual opportunity for the incredibly talented, world-renowned professional dancers of Chicago to unite artistically to help their own: those who have been adversely affected by critical health issues that negatively impact their ability to dance, create and work.

The Dancers’ Fund, established by Harriet Ross in the early 1990s, provides assistance to members of the professional Chicago dance community facing critical health issues. More than $6 million has been raised by Dance for Life since 1992 for The Dancers Fund, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, and 24 other AIDS prevention, treatment and advocacy organizations in Chicago.

In response to the changing needs of Chicago’s dance community, evolutions in the nature of HIV/AIDS’ impact and the growth of the annual event, Dance For Life incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in 2014 and is now Chicago Dancers United.

FUNDERS

Advancement of the Chicago Dancers United mission is funded in part by:

Thank you to all of the generous individuals and organizations who give to support our mission to improve the lives of dance professionals in Chicago.