Sharron Miller, Founder/Director of Sharron Miller’s Academy for the Performing Arts (SMAPA), is a former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer and veteran of seven Broadway shows. She has appeared on television, in film and hundreds of radio and television commercials. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Ms. Miller, who attended The Juilliard School, is committed to enriching the lives of children, teens, adults, and seniors through the arts. Her early training began with the late Fred Danieli, founder and director of the Garden State Ballet, who taught her the value of self-discipline, self-respect, and a commitment to excellence. She served on the faculty of The Renaissance School in Montclair, NJ, where SMAPA provided the dance and drama programs for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students during the school day. This program was recognized and supported by generous grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Ms. Miller has also served on the faculty of Montclair Kimberley Academy, Far Brook School, and continues her affiliation with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center as an arts in education consultant/partner. She continues to develop her arts enrichment programs and community outreach, which includes working in partnership with the Paterson Board of Education, Quitman Street Community School in Newark, and the Montclair Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs, providing a 6-week, full-day arts program, “Prime Time Summer Arts.” In addition, SMAPA has received substantial grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Turrell Fund, The Victoria Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Greater Newark Health Care Coalition, the Newark Arts Council, and the Stone Foundation to support the expansion of many of these programs.