News…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two dancers who participated in the West Virginia Dance Festival on April 25-27 have been awarded $500 scholarships and will attend intensive dance programs over the summer.  Mary Anna Ball and Jack Thompson were selected out of 26 dancers.

Mary Anna Ball performs with the Charleston Ballet and is the recipient of the Friends of West Virginia Culture and History Scholarship.  She will attend the Patel Conservatory’s Next Generation Ballet summer intensive program in Tampa, Florida.  Jack Thompson, recipient of the Jerry Rose Scholarship of Excellence sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, performs with the Morgantown Ballet Company. He will attend the WVU Summer Dance Academy and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Intensive Summer Program.

Scholarships were awarded by the out of state Festival adjudicators based on an application and audition process. Candidates must have been between the ages of 14-18 years old and an advanced dancer with a West Virginia dance company that attends the West Virginia Dance Festival. A live audition performance during the festival adjudication weekend was required as well as the availability, if chosen, to perform on either night of the festival. An essay summarizing their experience, a list of programs they would like to attend and why they believed it would be beneficial must also have been submitted to the Friends of West Virginia Culture and History.

Scholarships were awarded by the out of state Festival adjudicators based on an application and audition process. Candidates must have been between the ages of 14-18 years old and an advanced dancer with a West Virginia dance company that attends the West Virginia Dance Festival. A live audition performance during the festival adjudication weekend was required as well as the availability, if chosen, to perform on either night of the festival. An essay summarizing their experience, a list of programs they would like to attend and why they believed it would be beneficial must also have been submitted to the Friends of West Virginia Culture and History.

-30-