New Castle Releases

The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester (BGCNW) kicked off preparations for their 20th annual Humanitarian Award Dinner Wednesday, Jan. 15 at Café of Love in Mount Kisco, urging committee members and volunteers to support the 75-year-old organization and the children it serves.

Brian Skanes, Executive Director of the BGCNW, and Todd Rockefeller, Board President, noted the June 7 award dinner will honor Stuart Marwell, longtime BGCNW board member, supporter and alum, and the President and CEO of Curtis Instruments in Mount Kisco.

“The Award Dinner will be a giant reunion for club members past and present,” Skanes said. “And it won’t just be a look back at the past 75 years, but also a look ahead to the next 75.”

The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester is located at 351 Main Street, Mt. Kisco, NY and can be reached at (914) 666-8069 or by visiting www.bgcnw.com. For the latest news, photos and updates, please “like” the Club on www.facebook.com/BGCNW and follow on www.twitter.com/BGCNW.

Choreographer Peter Pucci has been appointed Artistic Director of the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation as of January 2014. The appointment has been announced by Executive Director Kaylen Ratto Giannini. “On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, I’m thrilled that the illustrious Peter Pucci has joined the Steffi family to bring an exemplary artistic direction to our students and community. With Peter at the helm, we expect our students to gain remarkable exposure to the contemporary dance world and to grow exponentially as artists. In addition to our stellar faculty, Steffi dancers continue to have the most qualified and passionate instructors in all of Westchester County.” – Kaylen Ratto Giannini, Executive Director.

Pucci, a 20 year resident of Mt. Kisco, brings four decades of award-winning international experience as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher to his new role.  He will begin his tenure as producer of the Foundation’s   annual Community and Benefit Concerts to take place at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center March 27 – 29. He is currently setting a new work on the Steffi Nossen Dance Company to be premiered on the program.

A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in Modern Dance, Pucci was a principal dancer, choreographer and rehearsal director with Pilobolus Dance Theatre for nine years, touring internationally, before forming his own company, Peter Pucci Plus Dancers (PP+).  PP+ has performed extensively, including six seasons at New York’s Joyce Theater. Pucci has created ballets for many of the top ballet companies including the Joffrey Ballet and the Dance Theater of Harlem.  He works as a Movement Director for theater productions regionally and in NYC including recent productions at New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company, Washington, DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company, and the Big Apple Circus. Most recently Pucci was commissioned to create the choreography for “Dream On By” with music by Paul Simon for the State Street Ballet in California.  He is an Artist in Residence at Manhattanville College, and a guest artist at the Juilliard School of Drama.

Among his many choreography awards are a Special Drama Desk Award for work in Horton Foote’s “Orphan’s Home Cycle”, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreographer for “Queens Boulevard (the musical)“, and ArtsWestchester Artist of the Year.

Pucci will oversee the artistic vision of the Foundation, Choreography Showcase, Benefit and Community Concerts, Guest Artist Series and Master Class programs. Mr. Pucci stated on his appointment,  “It is with great pleasure that I accept the position of Artistic Director of the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation. I look forward to sharing all the experience and knowledge that I’ve  gained  through my work with professional dance and theater companies and to join my experience with that of the SNDF’s visionary history and incredible faculty, staff, students and community.  I’ve had the good fortune to work with Steffi Nossen dancers in the past as a choreographer and I have always admired the level of commitment, integrity and tradition that the School embodies. My goal is to increase our level of excellence, to implement professional protocols, to broaden our student base, to add appropriate repertory and to support in every way what I feel is one of the very best dance schools in the country.”

The Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, formerly the Dance in Education Fund, is a 77-year-old not-for-profit dance advocacy and community outreach organization, which seeks to foster the arts in Westchester County. The Foundation supports and promotes arts, allowing for dance education and performances to be available to broad and diverse populations. Through significant artist support, outreach classes and free performances, the Foundation introduces dance to traditionally underserved children and adults. Through the support of the Foundation, the Steffi Nossen School of Dance enables all students, including those with special needs, the opportunity to participate in their extensive programs and classes in a supportive, non-competitive environment. A generous financial aid and scholarship program supports those with significant economic challenges. With a sterling reputation in the industry, Steffi Nossen is a leader among dance schools, focusing on the growth of students’ mind, body. spirit and character.  For more information please visit us at www.steffinossen.org or call us at 914-328-1900.

The combination of snow, rain and plummeting temperatures can create a nightmarish scenario for anyone walking, even if it is just a few feet. A simple walk to your car or along a sidewalk where there is “Black Ice” can result in serious problems including sprains, fractures, and brain injury.

White Plains Hospital, for example, experienced a roughly 50 percent spike in Emergency Room visits on Sunday that can be attributed to the yo-yo-like temperatures. In one hour, in particular, 41 patients were registered for treatment in the ER. Because temperatures are expected to free-fall today, Hospital staff members are expecting another busy evening.

In adults ages 65 and older these types of injuries can be serious: One out of three adults falls each year and they are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control. There were 2.3 million nonfatal injuries in 2010 that resulted in more than 662,000 hospitalizations and cost $30 billion in treatment. Common injuries include fractures of the hip, spine, arm, leg, ankle and hand while more serious spills can even cause traumatic brain injuries.

Info via White Plains Hospital and Dr. Erik Larsen, Director of Emergency Medicine.