National Young Arts Foundation Scholarship

Young students of dance, take notice: the National YoungArts Foundation is currently accepting applications for their 2016 YoungArts prize, awarded every year to students who demonstrate excellence in the arts. The application period for the 2016 award began on April 21 and ends on October 16, 2015.

Every year, the YoungArts Foundation recognizes young artists from ten different categories in the performing, visual, literary, and design arts. The Dance portion of the prize includes Ballet, Choreography, Hip Hop, Jazz, Modern, Tap, and World Dance.

The goal of the award is to celebrate and assist young artists in a crucial juncture in their life, and to raise appreciation for the arts in American culture.

Why You Should Apply

Winning this award can be life-changing for young students of the arts. Many celebrities are National YoungArts alumni, including Nicki Minaj, Kerry Washington, and Josh Groban.

The winners of this prestigious award receive a prize up to $10,000 and exclusive mentorship from world-renowned artists. Past mentors include Edward Albee, Liv Ullmann, Frank Gehry, Plácido Domingo, Vanessa Williams, Raul Esparza, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Additionally, winners gain access to significant scholarship opportunities to some of the best colleges in the world.

Winners also are nationally recognized and have the opportunity to perform or exhibit their work in major cultural centers—like the MoMA in New York or the JFK Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. They are also eligible for nomination as a U.S. Presidential Scholar of the Arts, one of the highest national awards available to high school aged students.

How to Apply

Click here to visit the online application.

Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 18 or in high school grades 10-12 (as of December 1, 2015). You must be either be a United States citizen, a permanent resident or an international student studying on a student visa.

Applicants prepare a portfolio or audition in addition to the online application. Click here for full list of the specific portfolio and audition requirements for each discipline.

All applicants are given the option be added to the YoungArts Student List Service. This subscription service provides college, university and conservatory admissions staff with links to each student’s audition portfolio, highlighting the student’s ambition in their artistic endeavors

Awards

YoungArts selects about 600 to 800 students to award from the applicant pool each year. All winners are eligible to participate in the regional YoungArts programs, space permitting. These are YoungArts Miami, YoungArts New York, and YoungArts Los Angeles.

The winners are divided into three categories: Finalist, Honorable Mention, and Merit. Students who rank in the top 5% of applicants receive a Merit Award. Students in the top 3% earn the Honorable Mention Award of $250.

Students who are selected as Finalists are invited to attend YoungArts Week in Miami. The YoungArts week is an all-expenses paid program that features a series of classes from world-famous artists, exhibitions, performances, enrichment programs, interviews, and more.

The week ends with a final live audition to determine each finalist’s standing. There’s Level I, II, and III awards that come with prizes of $3,000, $1,500, and $1,000 respectively. The top two categories are the Silver and Gold Finalists. Silver Award winners receive $5,000 dollars, and Gold Award winners get $10,000.

Need help preparing your audition? Get in touch with Gallery of Dance to work with a professional dancer.