Pola Nirenska Award
The Pola Nirenska Awards celebrates trailblazers and leaders of the dance community. Named in honor of the illustrious D.C. modern dance teacher and choreographer, and supported by her late husband, Dr. Jan Karski, the Pola Nirenska Awards annually honor individuals who have made an impact on the field of dance locally and oftentimes nationally. Each year, award recipients are chosen by a committee of arts professionals and granted by Washington Performing Arts. The awards reflect the Washington Performing Arts commitment to sustaining and nurturing performing artists and their art forms.
Award Recipients
The Pola Nirenska Award History for Outstanding Contributions to Dance
2023-2024 – Sarah Beth Oppenheim
2022-2023 – Ralph Glenmore
2020-2021 – Ronya Lee Anderson
2019-2020 – Anuradha Nehru
2018-2019 – Robert Priore
2017-2018 – Laura Schandelmeier
2016-2017 – Vincent Thomas
2015-2016 – Erica Rebollar
2014-2015 – Sylvia Soumah
2013-2014 – Baakari Wilder
2012-2013 – Daniel Phoenix Singh
2011-2012 – Lucy Bowen McCauley
2010-2011 – Brian Williams
2009-2010 – No award (support Centennial)
2008-2009 – Gesel Mason
2007-2008 – Helanius Wilkins
2006-2007 – Fabian Barnes
2005-2006 – Paul Emerson
2004-2005 – Ed Tyler
2003-2004 – Assane Konte
2002-2003 – Dana Tai Soon Burgess
2001-2002 – Deborah Riley
2000-2001 – Maida Withers
1999-2000 – Melvin Deal
1998-1999 Sharon Wyrrick
1997-1998 – Eric Hampton
1996-1997 – Jacek Luminski
1995-1996 – Carla Perlo
1994-1995 – Liz Lerman
1993-1994 – Pola Nirenska Memorial Concert produced by Rima Faber
The Pola Nirenska Lifetime Achievement Awards
2023-2024 – Sylvia Soumah
2022-2023 – George Jackson
2020-2021 – Melvin Deal
2019-2020 – Carol Foster, Beatrice Davis Williams
2018-2019 – Michelle Ava and Alexandra Tomalonis
2017-2018 – Therrell Smith
2016-2017 – Suzanne Farrell, Carla Perlo
2015-2016 – Deborah Riley
2014-2015 – Doug Yuell
2013-2014 – Nilimma Devi
2012-2013 – Sandra Fortune Green
2011-2012 – Alan M. Kriegsman and Sali Ann Kriegsman
2010-2011 – Alvin Mayes
2009-2010 – Seda Gelenian
2008-2009 – Virginia Johnson/Kathy Freshley
2007-2008 – Mary Averett Seelye, Kim Chan
2006-2007 – Yvonne Edwards
2005-2006 – Hedi Pope
2004-2005 – Jean Battey Lewis
2003-2004 – Meriam “Mim” Rosen
2002-2003 – Tensia Fonseca
2001-2002 – Naima Prevots
2000-2001 – Larry Warren
1999-2000 – Mary Day
1998-1999 – Doris Jones
1997-1998 – Erika Thimey
About Pola Nirenska
Pola Nirenska was a matriarch of modern dance in Washington, D.C. She helped elevate the art form as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher at a time when it was scarcely known by the general public. Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1910, Pola Nirenska trained at the Mary Wigman School in Dresden and toured the United States in 1932 with the Mary Wigman Dance Company. Ms. Nirenska moved to Vienna for further study with Rosalia Chladek, and then taught and performed in Italy. With fascism dominating continental Europe, she fled to Britain, where she danced for the troops while enduring the Blitz in London. She lost siblings and dozens of other family members in the Holocaust.
Ms. Nirenska moved to the United States in 1949 and was “discovered” by the pioneering American modern dancer and choreographer Ted Shawn. On the advice of choreographer Doris Humphrey, she moved from New York to Washington, D.C. She met Patrick Hayes, founder of Washington Performing Arts before her retirement in 1969. When she resumed choreographing in 1980, Washington Performing Arts presented her at the Hartke Theater at Catholic University and on May 19, 1988, at the Terrace Theater as part of the City Dance Festival, under the leadership of Doug Wheeler, President Emeritus.
Following her death, the annual Pola Nirenska Awards were established in 1993 by her husband, Dr. Jan Karski. The annual awards are presented by the Pola Nirenska Awards Committee and Washington Performing Arts.