Libby Komaiko
Libby Ann Komaiko[1] (June 30, 1949 – February 2, 2019) was an American classical dancer and educator, whose career spanned 50 years in culturally specific art, dance, and education. She is the founder of the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater in residence at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, Illinois.
Early life
Born in Chicago to Dorothy, a concert pianist and educator, and Robert, a music educator who served as the fine arts coordinator at Kaplan Jewish Community Center, Libby Komaiko's passion for dance began at the age of nine after seeing a performance of
Career
Komaiko put aside her dream of being on Broadway and continued to commit herself to Spanish dance.
In 1985, committed to bringing this art form and education to a range of students across the city to change lives, Komaiko and Lillian Hemnover, executive director of the Frederick Funston School, launched the Ensemble Español's youth company. With a mission to preserve, promote, and present the flamenco, folkloric, classical, and contemporary dance and music traditions of Spain, Ensemble Español grew from seven students to over 40 dancers, singers, and musicians. It presents over one hundred Spanish dance educational programs a year, reaching nearly 20,000 students in arts education programming, and has performed hundreds of concerts worldwide.[2]
Komaiko contributed flamenco, ballet, folkloric, and classical choreography to over 60 of the company's 125 original works and collaborated with founding members of the National Ballet of Spain, Juan Mata and Ana Gonzales, as well as other Spanish dancers Paco Alonso, Manolete, and Juanjo Linares.[6][7]
Komaiko retired from dancing in 1994.[3] In 2011, she became professor emerita of Northeastern's Department of Music and Dance.[7] Komaiko recorded an in-depth oral history interview with the Chicago Dance History Project in 2015.[9] She died on February 2, 2019, at the age of 69.[10]
Honors
- Lazo de Dama, Order of Isabella the Catholic (1983)[8]
- Ruth Page Award (2003)[8]
- International Latino Cultural Center Lifetime Achievement Award (2004)[8]
- Legacy Award from Audience Architects[8]
- Northeastern Illinois University Distinguished Alumni Award (2016)[8]
External links
References
- ^ "Libby Komaiko Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
- ^ a b c d "The Book - NEIU About". Neiu.edu. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b "Hispanic dance troupe has Jewish roots". Stljewishlight.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Alexia Elejalde. "Libby Komaiko, Ensemble Espanol founder". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "NEIU – In Common Magazine 2015". issuu.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Dame Libby Komaiko selected to receive Northeastern's 2015 Distinguished Alumna Award - Academics". Neiu.edu. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Dame Libby Komaiko - Ensemble Español". Ensembleespanol.org. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ "Chicago Dance History Project - Dame Libby Komaiko".
- ^ "Dame Libby Komaiko, founder of Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance, dies at 69". Chicago.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.