PBT School to Hold Community Auditions for Children’s Scholarships
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School will host a community audition on Saturday, April 11, for children, ages 5 to 8, who are interested in pursuing a Children’s Division scholarship for the 2014-2015 school year. Registration begins at 1:15 p.m. with auditions following from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at PBT Studios in the Strip District, 2900 Liberty Ave.
Now entering its third year, PBT’s Children’s Division Scholarship program supports early ballet training for talented students who demonstrate financial need. The program is committed to making PBT School and the art form of ballet accessible to passionate students throughout the Pittsburgh region.
The audition will consist of a basic dance class instructed by PBT School faculty members. No previous dance experience is required. Children must be 5 to 8 years of age by Sept. 1, and must qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch program to be considered for scholarships. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on their talent and dedication to pursuing dance training at PBT School. During the audition, PBT School will host a “Get to Know PBT and Ballet” information session for parents and family members.
As PBT’s first dedicated program for Children’s Division scholarships, the annual program aims to broaden access to early ballet training for talented young students from varied socioeconomic backgrounds. Since launching the program in June 2013, PBT has hosted more than 80 children in two community auditions and awarded 22 scholarships to talented students from ages 5 to 8, a pivotal age for developing dancers.
The program is generously funded by an endowment fund from the Ladies Hospital Aid Society, Sandy and Bill Lambert, and individual donors who value and appreciate the power of dance to enrich the lives of children.
To register for the audition, please call412-454-9109. Spaces are limited. For full audition guidelines and more information about the Children’s Division Scholarship program, please visit https://pbt.org/community-engagement/pbt-school-scholarships.
About Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School
As the official training institution of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, PBT School provides a diverse dance curriculum to 1,000 students across its Children’s, Student, Pre-Professional and Adult Open Divisions under the direction of PBT Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr and School Co-Directors Marjorie Grundvig and Dennis Marshall. Ranging from pre-ballet to Pre-Professional, PBT School fosters the expression, discipline and joy of ballet at every level and cultivates the next generation of professional dancers. Strengthened by daily exposure to PBT’s company of dancers, PBT School students experience training that extends from the studio to main-stage performance opportunities in annual student productions and select PBT productions at the Benedum Center.