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HYDE PARK SCHOOL OF DANCE
Celebrating the Retirement of August Tye
Founding Artistic Director, Hyde Park School of Dance
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From the beginning
August Tye, Founding Artistic Director, pictured above with young students (1998)
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More than three decades of extraordinary artistic leadership
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A Letter from the Board of Directors
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Dear HPSD Community,
After more than three decades of extraordinary artistic vision, Hyde Park School of Dance (HPSD) Founding Artistic Director August Tye is retiring from her leadership role.
Throughout her tenure, August has shaped not only HPSD, but generations of young people, families, artists, and educators throughout our community. What she created was never simply a dance school. HPSD became a place where young people discovered who they were, where confidence replaced self-doubt, where discipline and perseverance became second nature, and where lifelong friendships were formed.
Through every class, rehearsal, and performance, August taught lessons that reached far beyond the studio walls. Under her guidance, dance became a powerful teacher of life's most enduring lessons. She showed her students that success comes from commitment, resilience, and hard work. She taught them to trust themselves, support one another, embrace challenges, celebrate victories with humility, and find the courage to begin again after setbacks.
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“August's impact extends far beyond the thousands of dancers she has taught and mentored. She created an institution grounded in excellence, inclusion, discipline, and community, and in doing so helped shape generations of young people. Her vision has made HPSD an important part of the cultural fabric of our community, and we are deeply grateful for the extraordinary legacy she leaves behind.”
Ginger Odom
Longtime HPSD Board Member
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HPSD is the community cornerstone it is today because of August’s decades of artistic leadership. Under her steadfast direction, the School has grown from serving 30 students to over 800, without compromising care, quality, or human connection.
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“August's commitment to artistic excellence coupled with her firmly held values of inclusivity and belonging has been a shining example in dance education, opening doors and creating a second home for thousands of dancers. Through decades of dedication to the families and artists in our community, August's life's work will leave a lasting imprint on Hyde Park families and the field of dance for generations to come. I am so grateful to have worked alongside her and learned from her during our time together, and am honored to help carry her legacy forward as we realize HPSD’s next chapter.”
Tarah Ortiz Durnbaugh
Executive Director
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Perhaps nowhere is August's impact more evident than in the generations of students who grew up at HPSD and have gone on to become artists, professionals, teachers, parents, and leaders themselves. Among them is Amber Echols, who began as a young dancer at HPSD and now serves the school as Interim Artistic Director.
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“August Tye didn’t just teach me how to dance; she helped shape my life. From a little girl taking her first dance steps to becoming a professional dancer and now serving as a leader in the dance community, she’s been a constant source of encouragement, wisdom, and inspiration. Her legacy lives on through every student she’s mentored, and I am incredibly grateful to be one of them.”
Amber Echols
Interim Artistic Director
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For August's sister, Aimee Tye, this moment brings the story full circle: from HPSD's earliest beginnings to the thriving community it has become today.
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“When I think of my sister moving on from HPSD, my mind immediately jumps back to the beginning. August had taken the big step of moving to Chicago to teach. When the job that brought her to the city fell apart, it was August, a few supportive parents, and about nine young dancers who became the seed that has grown into HPSD. August took on Artistic Directorship at a very young age, and after thirty-plus years, the school’s success is a testament to her dedication and creative vision. This occasion is not an end but a beginning. HPSD won’t be the same. It will become something new, as it should. You are the seed. En Avant!”
Aimee Tye
Founder, Tye Chua Dance Company
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As August begins this new chapter, HPSD is deeply grateful that her relationship with the School will continue in new ways. Her influence will remain present in our classrooms, performances, traditions, and, most importantly, in the generations of dancers and teachers she has inspired.
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During this transition, Amber Echols will continue as Interim Artistic Director for the upcoming year, providing continuity in HPSD's artistic leadership. The Board will establish a search committee to conduct a thoughtful national search for HPSD's next Artistic Director. We are committed to a process that honors August's extraordinary legacy while thoughtfully considering the artistic leadership HPSD will need for its next chapter.
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Thank you, August, for your extraordinary vision, leadership, generosity, and unwavering commitment to HPSD.
With gratitude,
The Board of Directors
Hyde Park School of Dance
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August Tye
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Dear HPSD Community,
It is with very mixed emotions that I announce my retirement as Artistic Director of Hyde Park School of Dance.
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In 1993, Marilyn Sheperd and I took a leap of faith and founded Hyde Park School of Dance in Woolman Hall at the First Unitarian Church.
We shared a common mission: to bring dance to as many students as possible in an inclusive, nurturing, supportive, diverse, and community-driven environment. We believed then, as we still do today, in the power of dance to change lives.
From the very beginning, HPSD has been a labor of love. More importantly, it has been built on the belief that dance teaches dedication, discipline, perseverance, and the value of working hard to achieve a dream, whether that dream leads someone to become a dancer, teacher, choreographer, or pursue a path entirely outside of dance. Dance also instills confidence, resilience, and a sense of self that lasts a lifetime.
For more than 32 years, this work has been my passion and my life's calling. If I had the opportunity to begin again, I would not change a thing.
Over these three decades, I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the incredible impact dance has on people's lives. I have watched alumni go on to successful careers as dancers, educators, choreographers, artists, doctors, lawyers, newscasters, business owners, parents, and leaders in countless other professions. No matter where life has taken them, they have become strong, confident, compassionate, and successful individuals. That, to me, is one of HPSD's greatest achievements.
I would also be remiss if I didn't express how proud I am that HPSD has been women-founded and women-led since its inception. I hope that example has inspired generations of our students to recognize their own strength, leadership, and limitless potential.
Perhaps what has surprised me most throughout this journey is that the greatest strength of HPSD has never been our building, our performances, or even our programs. It has always been our community. Our faculty, administrative staff, students, families, volunteers, Board of Directors, and supporters have created something truly extraordinary together. We have become our own village, united by the belief that dance belongs to everyone and that everyone has something to gain from it. Every one of you has helped shape the school into what it is today, and I am endlessly grateful.
Last year, I took a leave of absence to focus on my family, particularly caring for my mother in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During that period, I came to realize that it was time for me to begin a new chapter, one that allows me to be closer to family and give back to the community where I was raised.
I have accepted a part-time position teaching dance in Kalamazoo Public Schools. Like HPSD, this opportunity is truly a labor of love. It will allow me to share the joy and transformative power of dance with young people who might not otherwise have access to dance education. I will also continue teaching at Tye-Chua Dance, the studio owned by my sister and brother-in-law.
Although I am stepping away from my role as Artistic Director, this is not goodbye. When opportunities arise, I hope to remain connected to HPSD as an artistic advisor, guest instructor, or choreographer. Hyde Park School of Dance will always hold a very special place in my heart. It has shaped my life as much as I hope I have helped shape it, and I will forever cherish the relationships, memories, and community we built together.
I want to extend my deepest thanks to Amber Echols for stepping into the role of Interim Artistic Director and to the entire HPSD faculty and staff for your unwavering dedication during this transition. Your commitment has ensured that the school continues to thrive, and I have every confidence that you are ready to write HPSD's next beautiful chapter.
To every student who has danced through our studios, every parent who entrusted us with their child, every teacher who inspired, every volunteer who gave their time, and every supporter who believed in our mission, thank you. You have given me far more than I could ever give in return.
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With gratitude, love, and endless appreciation,
August
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