KU News Release

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas sophomore has received the 2010 Elizabeth Sherbon Dance Award.

Elizabeth Diane “Libby” Ingram, a dance major from Tusla, Okla., plans to use her award for summer study with the New York City-based company Doug Varone and Dancers.

Liz Kowalchuk, associate dean of the School of the Arts, within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, presented the award during the University Dance Company performance on April 22. The award recognizes outstanding dance achievement.

“I can always push myself to become a greater dancer by experiencing new things, physically and intellectually,” Ingram said. “The most beautiful thing about dance is that the possibilities are endless and you can always find a way to improve.”

Ingram also received a $1,200 Harley S. Nelson Family Scholarship from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Department of Dance nominated Ingram for the scholarship.

Ingram’s career plans include choreographing, teaching and performing ballet. She has been a dance scholarship student since her freshman year and has performed with the University Dance Company in faculty and guest artist works. She also serves on the dance department’s Student Advisory Board.

Ingram studied at the Joffrey School of Ballet Summer Intensive in New York City in 2009 and at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute from 2005 to 2008. She is the daughter of Jane and Darrell Ingram of Tulsa and a graduate of Jenks High School in Tulsa.

The Elizabeth Sherbon Dance Award is named in honor of a former KU professor of dance who died in 2000. Sherbon was a scholar, educator and dancer for the Martha Graham and Jean Erdman dance companies in New York City.

The funds are managed by KU Endowment, the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management foundation for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment was the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.