Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Joins Joffrey Ballet Board as Honorary Chairman
Updated: July 19, 2011, 10:16
Though over the years I've heard quite a bit about Rahm Emanuel, currently Mayor of Chicago, I did not know he had a background in dance until I received a press release from the Joffrey Ballet announcing his appointment as Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors:
"Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been named Honorary Chairman of The Joffrey Ballet Board of Directors, following a unanimous Executive Committee vote. Mayor Emanuel, a former dancer, has a long history with the Joffrey. At 17 years old he was offered a scholarship to study at the Joffrey before choosing to pursue dance at Sarah Lawrence College. Since assuming office in May, Emanuel has been a vocal proponent of elevating Chicago's performing and visual arts community to even higher international recognition."
"The Joffrey Ballet Board has also elected Jason Tyler as its working Chairman. Tyler, Senior Vice President of the Investment Committee and Director of Research Options for Ariel Investments, LLC, previously served as the Treasurer of the Joffrey. Tyler succeeds Fred Eychaner, who served as Board Chairman since 2009 and has been a member of the Joffrey Board since the company relocated to Chicago from New York in 1995. Past Board Chairmen have included current White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley."
No slackers allowed on that board!
Here's more from Wikipedia on Rahm Emanuel's background in dance:
"Emanuel was encouraged by his mother to take ballet lessons as a boy and is a graduate of the Evanston School of Ballet as well as a student of The Joel Hall Dance Center, where his children also took dance lessons. He won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet but turned it down to attend Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal arts school with a strong dance program."
