In addition to celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, London School of Dance owner Gwen Owens will receive the 2015 Mary McLarry Bywaters Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance. The award ceremony is Sept. 6 at the Dallas City Performance Hall DanceFest.
From having danced in musicals in the West End of London and touring throughout Britain and overseas in chorus lines, to a long-term stint in the famous line-up of the BBC Television Toppers, to founding the London School of Dance in Garland, Owens has always been immersed in dance. In 2016 her studio will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Her lifelong affiliation with the Royal Academy of Dance in London began with studying ballet as a child in post-World War II Britain and later, incorporating its exacting standards as the foundation of her school. Tap training with the Imperial Society Teachers of Dance is reflected in Owens’ sparkling choreography. Her students can be seen performing all year at different DCNT community events, such as Dance Planet and National Tap Dance Celebration.
For more than 15 years, Owens has acted as children’s coordinator for the Moscow Ballet Company’s production of The Nutcracker in Dallas. For 25 years, she has been a certified member of the Texas Association of Teachers of Dancing. Her students have gone on to pursue professional careers in dance as performers, teachers, choreographers, and studio owners.
Owens’ legacy is most easily seen in her daughters, Michele and Misty. Both are accomplished, professional dancers and instructors in many forms of dance, including Adaptive Dance, a program for those with physical and cognitive challenges.
Presented by the Dance Council of North Texas, the afternoon will begin with a reception at 2 p.m. followed by a program at 3 p.m. that includes performances by 2015 DCNT scholarship recipients, professional dance companies, the honors award presentation and a silent auction. Tickets will be available in August.
For 27 years, DCNT has selected individuals whose passion and commitment to the dance community have greatly impacted the art form in North Texas. In addition to Owens, six other individuals will be honored. Each of the awards memorializes a talented and prestigious person in the dance community.