Applications Open for Two Dance Awards via Dance Victoria

The following is excerpted from a release from Dance Victoria.

In 2022, Dance Victoria will award $7,175 for emerging dance artists wishing to study at recognized institutions outside of Canada. Applications are open for two awards from March 1, 2022 to April 15, 2022, 11:59 pm PDT.

The Chrystal Dance Prize – Training (CDP) will award up to $6,000 to western Canadian dance artists wishing to train full-time at a recognized institution outside Canada (intensives and summer programs are not eligible). Preference is given to Victoria residents; however, some years no Victoria students apply making it an open field. If artists are entering a second or third year of study and living in a foreign country, their permanent address or place of origin must be in western Canada. Past CDPs have been awarded for students attending The Juilliard School, The School of American Ballet, the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, Palucca Hochschule fur Tanz (Germany) and more. The Chrystal Dance Prize is generated from a bequest made by Dance Victoria patron, Dr. Betty “Chrystal” Kleiman, to the Victoria Foundation. A committee of dance professionals is assembled each year to select the recipients.

Applications for the new Arabella and Robert Award for Dance, open to dancers from across Canada who are continuing their training at an international dance conservatory or institution, will be considered along with CDP – Training applicants. Winners will be selected by the same committee of dance professionals and $1,175 is available for this award. The Arabella and Robert Dance Award is generated from a fund established by Dance Victoria patrons Arabella Martin and Robert Britten, held at the Victoria Foundation.

“As talent often doesn’t come hand-in-hand with money, many dancers need funding to realize a dancing career,” says Arabella Martin. “We feel that it is vitally important to give back to this community, and I really believe art is food for the soul and needs to be nourished.”

Dancers from across Canada are eligible to apply for the Arabella and Robert Award for Dance. The Chrystal Dance Prize – Training Award will continue to be a regional award, open only to western Canadian dancers (applicants with a permanent address in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon or Northwest Territories are eligible). Dance Victoria has intentionally kept the guidelines as responsive as possible to ensure funds are allocated to the most deserving proponents.

For more information, visit the grant page or contact Stephen White, Executive Producer, Dance Victoria, at 250-595-1829