The special Tony Award for educators goes to Baltimore community artist CJay Philip

NEW YORK — The special Tony Award that honors educators is going to a Baltimore-based actor, educator, choreographer and Broadway veteran who has created arts opportunities for everyone from kindergartners to senior citizens. CJay Philip, founder and artistic director of the multidisciplinary ensemble Dance & Bmore, will receive the 2024 Excellence in Theatre Education Award on June 16 at the Tony Awards in New York City. It’s AMP Camp introduces children in grades three to six to onstage and offstage production skills, like lighting design and stage management, letting them know “all of the opportunities that could be waiting them in theater and theater making from behind the scenes.” Teens get to star and create Hardy’s adaptation of the opera “Carmen,” which travels around the city during the summer. Dance & Bmore is creating a progression of programs that take you through a lifetime.” The annual Excellence in Theatre Education Award bestowed by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University recognizes U.S. educators who have “demonstrated exemplary impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession.” Before moving to Baltimore in 2010, Philip began her career with the Maude Baum Modern Dance Company and Burundi African Dance in upstate New York. The Albany, New York, native made her Broadway debut in “Big the Musical” in 1996 and was dance captain for the original “Hairspray” directed by Jack O’Brien.