Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble To Perform In Knoxville At Civic Auditorium

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Feb. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- For the past 34 years, the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble has moved audiences with modern dance. From Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center to Norway, Japan and Indonesia, the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble has served as official Goodwill Ambassadors of Tennessee for audiences worldwide.

On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27-28 the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble will perform at the Civic Auditorium in downtown Knoxville. The three performances provide an opportunity for East Tennessee residents to experience what audiences across the country and around the world have raved about for more than three decades.

Dr. Dorothy Floyd, a poet, artist and dancer, founded the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble with a vision of children making a positive difference in the world and achieving artistic excellence equal to adults.

Dr. Floyd said, "I know I have been successful when an individual dancer goes onto the stage, feels the artistic spirit, projects it to an audience, and leaves that stage knowing she has, through the art of modern dance, made a difference in someone's life."

Although Dr. Floyd passed away in 2002, she left behind a legacy of work and words so complete that her vision still guides the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble today.

Under the direction of Irena Linn, the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble has performed around the world while raising money for various charities and nonprofits. In Norway, the group raised money for the world's only museum dedicated entirely to children's art. They also performed for the children of Newtown, Conn. after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

Linn met Dr. Floyd in Berlin, Germany when she was just 19 years old. In 1966, she left the Boston Conservancy where she was teaching modern dance to join Dr. Floyd in Knoxville.

"From the beginning, I knew there was a special idealism in Dr. Dorothy Floyd," Linn said. "I wanted to be part of her dream of teaching children using the art form of modern dance. People come to these performances expecting to see children  ̶  but they leave knowing that they have seen dancers."

Over the years, Linn has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work with the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble, including the YWCA Tribute to Women Award, the Governor's School Honoree for Outstanding Teacher, and the Margaret Martin Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tennessee Association of Dance.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance on Feb. 27 and the 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. performances on Feb. 28 at the Civic Auditorium are available by calling (865) 584-9636 or by visiting http://www.TCDEDance.org.