Roanoke reporter Alison Bailey Parker loved the Richmond Ballet. And now the non-profit Piedmont Arts in Martinsville has established a fund to support Piedmont Arts On Stage performances by the Richmond Ballet.

“[Alison] was a student in our Martinsville Minds In Motion (MIM) program for five years, beginning in 2000, and represented its spirit and energy beautifully as a performer in Team XXL,” said Richmond Ballet public relations manager Kate Crowder in a release. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the Parker family after the loss of their daughter and to the Martinsville community that was home to our MIM program for a number of years.”

She added that “Richmond Ballet is deeply touched that, in this time of grief, the Parker family has chosen to cite Alison’s love of dance and respect for Richmond Ballet in a memorial fund designed to continue to bring the Richmond Ballet to Martinsville. Please join us in celebrating Alison’s memory through dance, an uplifting and powerful art form that reminds us of the very best within the human soul – its capacity for good.”

In a separate press release, Parker’s mother, Piedmont Arts Director of Programs Barbara Parker, said: “Alison loved the ballet and she had a great deal of respect for the Richmond Ballet.”

“The Alison Bailey Parker Memorial Fund is a way to honor Alison by bringing high-quality performances by Richmond Ballet to our community for years to come,” said Executive Director Kathy Rogers. “Through this fund, Piedmont Arts hopes to impart Alison’s love of dance and the performing arts to new generations.”

To give to the Alison Bailey Parker Memorial Fund, visit PiedmontArts.org or call 276.632.3221.

Some info on Piedmont Arts: “Piedmont Arts is a nonprofit art museum in Martinsville, Virginia that inspires and engages the diverse Martinsville-Henry County community and surrounding areas through visual arts, performing arts and arts education. Piedmont Arts is a statewide partner of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Piedmont Arts programming is partially supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.”