The Michael J. Redmond Memorial Dance Scholarship provides financial assistance to young BIPOC dancers who participate in competitive dance and whose families experience financial barriers to supporting their dance education.

Competitive dance can be expensive. Tuition is only the beginning. Competition and convention fees, costumes, recital fees, shoes, private lessons, and other expenses can quickly add up—and sometimes one expense is all that stands between a dancer and an opportunity to keep doing what they love.

Our scholarships are intended to help bridge those gaps.

Scholarship awards range from $50 to $1,000 and may assist with eligible dance-related expenses such as:

• Dance tuition

• Competition and convention fees

• Recital fees

• Costumes

• Dance shoes, including pointe shoes

• Private lessons

• Other dance-related expenses approved by the Scholarship Board

Who May Apply

Applicants must:

• Be 8 through 17 years old at the time of application;

• Identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC);

• Participate in, or be preparing to participate in, competitive dance; and

• Have a financial need that affects their family's ability to meet the costs associated with their dance education.

We intentionally do not define financial need by a particular household income, financial formula, or type of hardship. Families have different circumstances, resources, obligations, and challenges. Instead, we ask applicants and their families to tell us their story and help us understand why scholarship assistance would make a difference for their dancer.

Tell Us About the Dancer

Every dancer has a story, and we want to hear yours.

Tell us about your dance journey. How did you get started? What styles do you love? What does dance mean to you? What are you proud of? What are you working toward? Have you faced challenges along the way? Most importantly, tell us what continuing to dance means to you.

For dancers age 13 and older, we strongly prefer that the dancer write this portion of the application in their own words.

For dancers under age 13, a parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult may complete the entire application on the dancer's behalf.

We Want Your Story, Not a Perfect Essay

This is not a writing contest.

We are not looking for perfect spelling, perfect grammar, sophisticated vocabulary, or a professionally polished essay. Writing ability will not be considered when the Board reviews applications.

We want something real.

For dancers who are old enough to write their own dance journey, please tell us your story in your own voice. Don't worry about whether it sounds impressive enough. We would much rather hear something genuine from you than something perfectly polished by an adult, an English teacher, or AI.

Tell us why you dance and why being able to continue matters to you. Your story matters more to us than how perfectly you tell it.

Tell Us About the Financial Need

The financial portion of the application should be completed by a parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult, regardless of the dancer's age.

There is no particular type of hardship a family must demonstrate and no specific household income threshold that must be met. Please share whatever information you believe will help the Scholarship Board understand your family's circumstances and why assistance with dance expenses would be meaningful.

We also ask families to tell us about the specific dance expenses for which assistance would be most helpful, including the approximate amount and, when applicable, when the expense will be due.

For example:

• Competition fee of $375 due February 15

• Costume balance of $160 due in January

• Pointe shoe fitting scheduled for January, with an estimated cost of $90–$120

• Monthly tuition of $300

• Convention fee of $250 due March 1

You do not need to have exact figures for every anticipated expense. Estimates are welcome when the final cost is not yet known.

Providing this information helps the Board understand where an award could make the greatest difference. A larger financial need does not automatically receive priority over a smaller one. Sometimes a $100 pair of shoes is the thing a dancer needs most.

Dancer Photo

We would love to put a face to the dancer whose story we are reading!

Applicants are invited to include a recent photo of the dancer. A photo of the dancer doing what they love—dancing!—is especially welcome, but a professional, competition, or dance photo is absolutely not required. A regular photo is perfectly fine.

Submitting a photo is optional and will not affect the Board's consideration of the application.

Photos submitted with an application are for the Scholarship Board's review. Submission of a photo does not, by itself, give the Michael J. Redmond Memorial Dance Scholarship permission to publish or share the dancer's image publicly.

How Scholarships Are Selected

Applications are reviewed by the Scholarship Board. Awards are based primarily on the dancer's individual dance journey and demonstrated financial need, as well as the particular dance expenses for which assistance is requested and the scholarship funds available.

Priority consideration may also be given to dancers who attend:

• BIPOC-majority-owned dance studios;

• LGBTQ+-majority-owned dance studios; and/or

• Dance studios that primarily serve students from economically disadvantaged communities.

If an applicant would like the Board to consider their studio's ownership, mission, or student population, the studio owner or director may provide a brief supporting statement. A studio statement is optional and is not required for a dancer to receive a scholarship.

Dance studios are also encouraged to share our scholarship program with dancers and families whom they believe may benefit from financial assistance. A studio referral or recommendation is not required to apply. Families may apply directly.

How Scholarship Funds Are Paid

Scholarship funds are intended for dance-related expenses and are not issued as unrestricted cash awards.

For expenses payable to a dance studio—such as tuition, competition fees, recital fees, and costume fees—scholarship funds will generally be paid directly to the dancer's studio on the recipient's behalf.

For smaller expenses purchased by the dancer's family, such as dance shoes or similar approved dance-related items, the Scholarship may reimburse the family upon submission of a receipt.

When a reimbursement award is made, the recipient will be notified of the amount awarded and may submit receipts for eligible dance-related expenses up to that amount.

Specific payment and reimbursement instructions will be provided to scholarship recipients.

Application and Award Timeline

Applications are accepted annually from November through February.

The Scholarship Board may review applications and make smaller awards throughout the application period, particularly when assistance is needed for a specific upcoming expense.

Larger scholarship awards will generally be selected and announced by March 30.

Awards range from $50 to $1,000. The amount of an individual award is determined by the Board based on the dancer's circumstances, demonstrated financial need, requested expenses, timing of those expenses, and available scholarship funds.

Applying does not guarantee an award, and the amount awarded may be less than the amount requested. The Board may determine that it is able to fund one particular need even when it cannot fund all of a dancer's requested expenses.

Applying Again & Multiple Dancers in One Family

A dancer may submit one application per annual scholarship cycle.

Dancers who have applied for or received a scholarship in a previous year are welcome to apply again in future years. Receiving an award one year does not guarantee an award in a subsequent year.

If more than one eligible dancer lives in the same family, each dancer is welcome to apply, but each must submit a separate application so that we can learn about that dancer's individual journey and needs.

Applications from siblings or other members of the same household are considered individually. An award to one dancer does not guarantee an award to another dancer in the same family, and the Board may award different amounts based on each dancer's circumstances and requested expenses.

For example, the Board may be able to assist one sibling with a $120 pair of pointe shoes even if available funds do not allow us to cover another sibling's $1,000 in competition fees.

Our Goal

We know how much dance can give a child: confidence, discipline, community, creativity, joy, and a place to belong.

We also know that talent and passion aren't determined by a family's bank account.

The Michael J. Redmond Memorial Dance Scholarship exists to help make sure that when a young dancer has the passion to keep dancing, financial circumstances don't have to be the reason they stop.