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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 12, 2007
Contact: Yvonne Stahr, Programs Information Officer
Phone:  (603) 271-0791; e-mail: Yvonne.m.stahr@dcr.state.nh.us

Edra Toth is New State Arts Councilor from the World of Dance

Edra Toth of Wolfeboro was appointed to the NH State Council on the Arts by Governor John Lynch.

Born in Budapest, Edra Toth and her family immigrated to the US during the Hungarian uprising in 1956. They settled in Boston where E. Virginia Williams, founder of the Boston Ballet, recognized the dance potential in the young girl and offered her a scholarship to attend her school of dance. Edra became her protégé and made her debut with the Boston Ballet at age 13. At age 15, she was promoted to Prima Ballerina and became Boston Ballet’s leading star for the next ten years. During her years with the company she was honored with an invitation to perform at the White House during the administration of Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Toth has toured internationally, performing in a wide variety of classical productions with well-known artists. She has studied ballet and dance in Denmark where she focused on the Bournonville technique. Toth posed for the photographs that illustrate the book, A Guide to Classical Ballet.

Toth has dedicated herself to dance education in order to share the knowledge that was passed on to her as a child. She feels that the rewards of training, hard work and discipline not only impact children’s abilities to express themselves through movement, but also imprints them with valuable life skills.

Toth runs Edra Toth’s Academy of Dance and Music in Wolfeboro. Her dedication to children and the arts has garnered her an official proclamation by the State of New Hampshire commending her for dedication to children and the arts.

Her term on the State Arts Council will end in 2011.

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts is the advisory Council for the Division of the Arts within the Department of Cultural Resources. It was established in 1965 as the official state arts agency with legislation (RSA 19-A) designed "to insure that the role of the arts in the life of our communities will continue to grow and play an ever more significant part in the welfare and educational experience of our citizens."

Funding comes from appropriations from the Governor and the New Hampshire State Legislature and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency supported with appropriations from the President and the United States Congress. The State of New Hampshire also accepts private, tax-deductible donations and bequests that may be designated for the sole purpose of helping the Arts Council fulfill its enabling legislation.

Last updated: January 22, 2007