Dance Scholarships
Like other sports scholarships there are many awards offered in the area of dance, however, dance has many forms and there are general dance scholarships, as well as dancing scholarships specific to a certain area of dance or institute of study. Dance is also different from other sports (unlike baseball or soccer) in that students often will major or earn a degree in the study. Scholarships for dance are given for a vast variety of reasons from need to talent to region to demographics and are funded by an equally large pool of individuals and businesses, etc. Several specific scholarships for dancing are listed here and then two sources which do a lot of research on dance scholarships and have information on a huge variety of them follow.
A dance scholarship program was established in 1999 by American Harlequin for students in any performing arts area, including dance. Ten scholarships for dancing totaling $25,000 will be awarded. This scholarship is the easiest one available; it is all online and does not even require a signature on your part but a basic rationale as to why you are pursuing this career. The other unique thing about this substantial dance scholarship is that your odds of winning are equal to any other applicants. The reason being is that scholarship winners are randomly drawn from all applicants, because American Harlequin does not feel equipped to judge applicants’ talent or financial situation. Applications are due by November 1, 2011 and winners will be notified shortly after.
The Jesse Karat Dance Scholarship was established in honor of its namesake who was killed in a car accident at the age of 13. Because she loved all dance forms, individuals specializing in any dance form are eligible for this $500 scholarship. Financial need is not a consideration for this dancing scholarship as applicants will be judged on merit alone. The committee wants to know about the applicant’s dreams, training, program of study, etc. in order to determine recipients. Application materials become available in April every year and are due by June 30. The recipient(s) are notified mid-August of the award.
Grace Kelly became Princess Grace of Monaco and worked with her husband, Prince Rainier III to support new artists in honing their skills and supporting them as they attempted to reach their goals. Upon her death, the Prince created the Princess Grace Foundation-USA in honor of her dreams and legacy. The Princess Grace Awards recognize the talent of individual artists in theater, dance, and film and seek to work with schools to provide with scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships which not only give financial help but also opportunity and encouragement to grow and succeed. Awards are disbursed to the organizational body which then disburses funds to the individual. There is no specific grant or monetary average for assistance, as applicants request the amount they need. These requests should be verifiable. Many requests are honored, although not always in the full amount requested and awards generally fall into the range of $5,000-$25,000. Dance scholarships for students at non-profit schools and fellowships for dancers at non-profit companies are available and the deadline for application is April 30, 2011.
If you have a particular school in mind to study dance, you may want to consider looking at the Dance Magazine Scholarship Guide which is published annually in August. This guide lists the largest scholarships for dance by dollar amount and also clearly identifies the school or area associated with the award. You can look up the schools you are most interested in to find the scholarships or narrow down your school choices by those which have the largest opportunities for receiving funds.
Another excellent source for searching for a wide variety of dance scholarships is the NextStudent website. Search for dance scholarships and literally four pages of specific scholarships pop up. It will take time to look through this list to find dancing scholarships for which you are eligible, as many of these are awarded to individuals specializing in a certain aspect of dance or attending a certain school. However, the time will be well worth it, as this and the Dance Magazine lists are the most comprehensive to be found.