{"id":36313,"date":"2021-04-16T15:23:51","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T19:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.balletx.org\/an-inside-look-at-balletxs-dance-fellowship-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-04-17T20:30:24","modified_gmt":"2021-04-18T00:30:24","slug":"get-to-know-stanford-thompson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.balletx.org\/get-to-know-stanford-thompson\/","title":{"rendered":"Get to Know Stanford Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stanford, welcome to BalletX! Tell us about yourself and your career! Where are you from? What and where did you study? Where did you start your career?<\/strong>
\nI grew up outside of Atlanta and was involved in the arts from an early age. Although I moved to Philadelphia to pursue a degree in trumpet performance from The Curtis Institute of Music, I took two years of dance in high school under a former <\/span>Lim\u00f3n<\/span> Dance Company artist, the late Pamala Jones-Malave. I credit her passion for dance and special gift as an educator for helping to shape the life I have today. After I completed my studies at Curtis, I enrolled in a fellowship program hosted by the New England Conservatory in Boston where I studied the social development and music education program of Venezuela called <\/span>El Sistema<\/span><\/i>. I returned to Philly immediately after and co-founded Play On Philly with philanthropist Carole Haas Gravagno eleven years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell us more about Play On Philly: Why did you found the organization, and what is your mission?<\/strong>
\nWhile in college at Curtis, I quickly learned about the inequities in the city’s education system and the lack of arts education that I believe is the best tool we can use to help a young person succeed academically, socially, and personally. I wanted to build an alternative approach to arts education that mirrored my upbringing in music. As a result, Play On Philly provides over 300 students a tuition-free music education program each weekday after school and almost three dozen performance opportunities a year. We believe that an intensive and joyful experience will equip them with the skills our students need to be successful throughout life.<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s wonderful! Moving onto BalletX, what makes you most excited about joining our Board of Directors?<\/strong>
\nI am looking forward to branching outside of my usual network of musicians and learning from those who are passionate about advancing one of the most forward-thinking dance companies in the United States. Philadelphia is lucky to have such a treasure in our city and I look forward to playing my part in helping BalletX reach its next goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are so honored to have you here! Last question, tell us about your hobbies: What do you do for fun, outside of work?<\/strong>
\nI really enjoy cooking and making ice cream! I’m glad that my dancing days are over so I can indulge a bit, but being in the kitchen a lot since the pandemic started has given me time away from my work and the world. I also enjoy traveling, getting to know my seven nieces and nephews, and spending quality time with friends and loved ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

Join our email list<\/a><\/strong> to stay on top of all BalletX news!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn more about Board Member Stanford Thompson, Founder and Executive Director of Play On Philly!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":37070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview"],"acf":[],"cp_meta_data":{"_edit_lock":["1621872659:5"],"_edit_last":["5"],"_mepr_unauthorized_message_type":["default"],"_mepr_unauthorized_message":[""],"_mepr_unauth_login":["default"],"_mepr_unauth_excerpt_type":["default"],"_mepr_unauth_excerpt_size":["100"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["217"],"filter_category":[""],"_filter_category":["field_575000bf40f4b"],"show_donate_baletx_banner":["0"],"_show_donate_baletx_banner":["field_573341c2d686c"],"top_show_dates":[""],"_top_show_dates":["field_576bb0c8af8e4"],"show_dates_period":[""],"_show_dates_period":["field_576bb0c8afcb8"],"numbers_of_premiers":[""],"_numbers_of_premiers":["field_576bb0c8b00d5"],"show_choreographers":[""],"_show_choreographers":["field_576bb0c8b0475"],"page_show_dancers_all":[""],"_page_show_dancers_all":["field_576bb0c8b0848"],"show_schedule_title":[""],"_show_schedule_title":["field_576bb0c8b0fe4"],"show_sidebar_rows":[""],"_show_sidebar_rows":["field_576bb0c8b1375"],"show_sidebar_tickets_title":[""],"_show_sidebar_tickets_title":["field_576bb0c8b1745"],"show_sidebar_tickets_description":[""],"_show_sidebar_tickets_description":["field_576bb0c8b1b34"],"show_sidebar_tickets_link":[""],"_show_sidebar_tickets_link":["field_576bb0c8b1ee1"],"show_sidebar_video_title":[""],"_show_sidebar_video_title":["field_576bb0c8b22b7"],"show_sidebar_video_link":[""],"_show_sidebar_video_link":["field_576bb0c8b2684"],"show_colaborators_section_title":[""],"_show_colaborators_section_title":["field_57767382e42fa"],"show_colaborators_cart":[""],"_show_colaborators_cart":["field_576bb0c8b2e6f"],"show_sponsors_section_title":[""],"_show_sponsors_section_title":["field_57767127e4dee"],"show_mobile_sponsors_carousel":[""],"_show_mobile_sponsors_carousel":["field_576bb0c8b35ed"],"_thumbnail_id":["37070"],"_wp_old_date":["2021-03-30"],"_eael_post_view_count":["1135"],"_elementor_page_assets":["a:0:{}"]},"yoast_head":"\nGet to Know Stanford Thompson - 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