Excellent news has arrived: Martha Ullman West, Art Scatter’s chief corespondent, will be presented with the Senior Critics Award when the national Dance Critics Association holds its annual conference next month in Seattle.

Because Art Scatter World Headquarters has shifted temporarily nine hours east to Amsterdam, we got the word a little late — first, in an email from Martha declaring that she “was, frankly, stunned. And pleased”; then from checking Marty Hughley’s online story on the award at Oregon Live. Please look there for the details.

We’re thrilled that the dance critics have recognized Martha’s skills, and you should be able to see her use them again very soon. In her email from New York she mentioned that she’ll be seeing Balanchine’s Agon and Square Dance at New York City Ballet, and will be posting about them for us soon. Oregon Ballet Theatre has also recently performed Square Dance, so we’re looking forward to a little critical comparison.

All together, now, let’s give Martha a cheer: hip hip hurrah!