Published: Oct 11, 2005
Susan Taylor Lennon, an associate professor of dance, was awarded the Mayor's
Artist of the Year Award on Sept. 29. The annual award, now in its second year,
honors an artist who has made an impact on the Tampa community.
Lennon is
the director of UT’s dance program and an accomplished performer, choreographer
and storyteller. She has national and international credits, but in Tampa,
Lennon is best known for her work with The Tampa Ballet, Whose Move --
Dance-Mime-Theatre Troupe, The Dance Project, and her own Susan Taylor &
Company.
Lennon is a graduate of Robinson High School and earned a
master's degree in dance from Florida State University. For almost 25 years, she
has made significant contributions to dance in Tampa. Lennon has frequently
taken dance performances beyond traditional stages and into historic buildings,
parks and street corners. She has collaborated with countless visual and
performing artists of all genres.
She is a two-time recipient of an
individual artists' grant from the state of Florida, and has received local
grants, honors and awards for her work both as a performer and as a community
arts organizer. Lennon currently works with elderly and mentally challenged
adults and offers community workshops in creativity. She serves on the board of
directors for Friends of Tampa Recreation and Creative Tampa
Bay.
Lennon’s most recent one-woman show, Telling Secrets -- A Moving
Memoir (which combined dance, storytelling, and visual arts) premiered in August
at UT’s Scarfone/Hartley Gallery. Her performance will be repeated in October at
the Ybor City campus of Hillsborough Community College.
For more
information, contact the Office of Public Information at publicinfo@ut.edu or (813) 253-6232.