Slavenska Dance Preservation, Inc. is a California 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit Corporation.
EIN: 20-2463725
Mission Statement
The mission of Slavenska Dance Preservation, Inc. is to document the artistic contribution of Mia Slavenska to dance through
the production of a feature-length documentary on her life. Proceeds from the distribution of the documentary will be used to
promote and preserve the legacy of Mia Slavenska and her contemporaries through financial support for the production of
film, written biographies, artistic renderings, as well as financial support to libraries in the United States and abroad for
cataloguing of materials, exhibitions, etc.
Board of Directors
Maria Ramas-President
Ted Sprague-Secretary
Bridget Murnane-Board Member
Contact information:
Maria Ramas: mariaramas@slavenskadancepreservation.org
Ramas was an educator at the University of California at Los Angeles for over 25 years. Her articles on women's history and feminist theory have appeared in journals such as New Left Review and Feminist Studies and have been anthologized in collections along with writers such as Erich Fromm and Juliet Mitchell. She has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Women in Film and received an Emmy Award®, a Golden Mike award and Two Silver Telly awards for her work on Mia, A Dancer’s Journey. As Mia Slavenska's daughter, growing up in the ballet world of the 1950s and 1960s, Ramas experienced in an intimate and personal way the artistry of Mia Slavenska and the aesthetics of her era. This is her first feature-length documentary.
Sprague is a dancer, director, and choreographer who has danced in 15 motion pictures, 250 television shows, and as a partner to Las Vegas headliners including Cyd Charisse and Mitzi Gaynor. He has directed over 100 plays and musicals and has choreographed several ballets, including the Trojan Women, Time and the Waltz, Face of Despair, and Tango Suite. Ted received an Emmy Award®, a Golden Mike award and Two Silver Telly awards for his work on Mia, A Dancer’s Journey.
Murnane is known for her creative media treatments of dance, as well as experimental and narrative projects. Her films have screened in over thirty international festivals and received numerous awards including two CINE Eagles. Her first feature, Odile and Yvette at the Edge of The World, premiered at the prestigious Edinburgh Film Festival and received special recognition from the Film Advisory Board and Brussels Diamond Film Festival. The PBS series, New Television and The Territory, have presented her work, as well as the cable channel, Classic Arts Showcase. Bridget is a Professor of Television, Film and Media Studies at California State University Los Angeles where she is the co-associate chair, Special Assistant to the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, TVFM/TVFT Media Internship Director, and Student Production Unit Executive Director.