Brick Teen Receives Governor's Arts Award For Dance

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township resident has received an award for dance from the Governor's Awards for Arts In Education.

BrieAnna Serafin, a senior studying dance at the Performing Arts Academy of the Ocean County Vocational Schools, received the Artistic Excellence and Leadership in Dance May 22 at the celebration of the awards in Trenton.

Serafin trains in ballet, modern, and jazz, as well as a variety of guest artist residencies. She also assistant teaches and dances at Dance Concepts in Brick.

This year, Serafin was a featured dancer in the Performing Arts Academy's production of Beauty and the Beast. She is very involved in her school and school community. BrieAnna member of the National Hohor Society of Dance Arts at her school and choreographs for spring dance club as well as a variety of other school clubs and organizations. She will continue her dance training and education next year at Rutgers University- Mason Gross School of the Arts.

The Governor’s Awards in Arts Education began in 1980 to promote awareness and appreciation of the arts, recognizing the creativity, talent and leadership of the award winners. Each year, awards are presented to approximately 20 educators and 80 students. National and statewide organizations select the students for their exemplary work in creative writing, speech, dance, music, theatre and visual arts and the leaders for their exceptional commitment and contribution to arts education. The program also recognizes arts educators and arts education advocates, whose leadership has helped nurture the development of students in the arts across the state, the Arts in Education NJ website said.

The Governor’s Awards event is a partnership of the Arts Ed NJ, the Department of Education, Art Pride New Jersey Foundation, the Department of State and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support is provided by: the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics; Art Educators of New Jersey; Art Administrators of New Jersey; Dance New Jersey; New Jersey Council of Teachers of English; New Jersey Forensic League; New Jersey Music Educators Association; New Jersey Performing Arts Center; Writer's Theatre of New Jersey; Speech and Theatre Association of New Jersey; and Young Audiences of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.

Jeff Koons 'Seated Ballerina' art installation sculpture. Photo by David Allen/Patch