South Burlington dance studio creates scholarship fund for aspiring ballet dancers of color

Ballet is an expensive pursuit, with specialized footwear and dancewear, and an absolute requirement to attend multiple classes weekly, according to June Buechner Carney, co-owner of Lines Vermont Studio in South Burlington.

That's why Carney and studio co-owner Megan Stearns created the Diversity in Dance Fund to help aspiring ballet dancers of color. Carney said in a statement that the high costs of ballet can create an insurmountable barrier for young dancers of color.

The studio has allocated $1,000 toward the scholarship fund and is accepting donations from those who would like to help sponsor the program.

"We are listening to the Black voices in the professional dance world who are pointing out the proportionally tiny representation of non-white dancers accepted to our country's major ballet companies," Stearns said in a statement. "Our culture has a long history of conceptualizing ballet dancers as white."

Last March, USA Today published a Q&A with Misty Copeland, the first Black female principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. Copeland said she took her first ballet class on the basketball court of a Boys & Girls Club.

"I was one of six children, so we didn't have a ton of opportunity to really have any kind of individual chance to go play a sport or go take a dance class," Copeland told USA Today. 

The scholarship at Lines Vermont is designed for dancers of color ages 12 to 19, "who express a commitment to excelling in ballet and require financial assistance to do so."

Scholarship funds can be used to cover 100% of the cost of ballet classes, including regularly scheduled drop-in classes, master classes and private lessons.

The amount of funding a dancer gets will depend on how much demand there is, and how much money is raised. Scholarships will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested dancers may apply online at linesvt.com/diversity.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.