New Award for Chicago Choreographers Honors Dance Legend Shirley Mordine

PhotoShirley Mordine performs in 鈥淩iders to the Top of the Sky鈥 (1975), which she choreographed. Photo by Chuck Osgood.
The Dance Center鈥檚 new Shirley Mordine Dance Maker Award offers $1,000 grants and mentorship to support new work by Chicago-area choreographers. Applications are due Oct. 23.

The Dance Center of 汤不热视频 is honoring the legacy of its visionary founder with a new award supporting Chicago-area choreographers. 

The Shirley Mordine Dance Maker Award provides unrestricted $1,000 grants and mentorship to emerging to mid-career choreographers creating new dance work. Named for Mordine, who died in 2025, the award celebrates her enduring contributions to Chicago dance and her lifelong passion for choreography. 

“My mom received recognition and support at pivotal moments in her life and career that made it possible for her to dedicate her life to dance,” says Ann Mordine ’84. “Even a relatively small amount meant she could secure music rights for an essential track or hire a babysitter or rent rehearsal space. My family’s hope is that The Shirley Mordine Dance Maker Award helps spark and encourage choreographers to keep contributing to Chicago’s vibrant and enduring dance community.” 

A Lasting Legacy 

Mordine’s five-decade career in Chicago helped shape both the college and the city’s dance community. She founded Columbia’s Dance Department and Dance Center and originated its Dance Presenting Series, now in its 53rd season. 

She also founded Mordine & Company Dance Theater, serving as its artistic director from 1969 to 2019. Over her career, she choreographed more than 100 dances exploring subjects including loss, passion, gender, current events, and Chicago. Her work brought her into collaboration with designers, musicians, puppeteers, and fellow choreographers. 

An endowed fund established by Shirley Mordine’s family and friends will sustain the award in perpetuity, says Jimmy Noriega, dean of Columbia’s Schools of Theatre and Dance and Audio and Music, ensuring that her influence continues to inspire Chicago choreographers. 

Supporting New Dance Work 

Applicants must be based in Chicago and prepared to premiere a new work in 2027. A panel of dance professionals will evaluate applications with Mordine’s approach to dancemaking in mind, considering each artist’s readiness, project scope, artistic risk, and commitment to continued innovation. 

Recipients will be announced and celebrated at the Dance Center’s “ZAWADI: Repertory Performance Works” concert on Dec. 17, 2026. The concert features works set on current Columbia dance students by Dardi McGinley Gallivan, Lisa Gonzales and Darrell Jones, Matumbe Himons, and Nejla Yatkin. 

Applications are due at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Visit the Dance Center’s for more information and to apply. 

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