Dance Victoria, home of Canada’s Chrystal Dance Prize, today announced the winners in the 2019 Emerging Artists award category. A panel of four dance professionals selected the winners through an application process.
Dance Victoria is pleased to support dancer Mikaela Kos from Nanaimo who is studying dance at Palucca Hochschule fur Tanz in Dresden, Germany. Mikaela will be entering her second year in September. Her previous training includes a year at the National Ballet of Canada’s school in Toronto. Dance Victoria awarded $3,000 towards her tuition.
In an email accepting her award Mikaela wrote: “It is an absolute honour to have been selected as a recipient of the 2019 Dance Victoria Chrystal Dance Prize Scholarship for Emerging Artists. Growing up on Vancouver Island, I have had the privilege of taking part in various experiences generated through Dance Victoria whether it was attending the adjudicator workshops at the Dance Victoria studios during the many Victoria DanceWorks Competitions I attended through the years; excitedly attending my first professional school audition in the same studios for Canada’s National Ballet School which would lead to my attending the school and further strengthen my determination to have ballet and contemporary in my future; or sitting at the Royal Theatre dreaming of how I would one day be performing for audiences like the multitude of talented companies I had the opportunity to see perform there with the support of Dance Victoria. There have been so many more ways that Dance Victoria has inspired me but there is no denying the impact your organization has had on shaping me into the dancer I am today. I am so thankful. To be awarded this scholarship through Dr. Betty “Chrystal” Kleiman’s bequest is such an honour. I will carry her name with me throughout my 2019-2020 school year knowing the full privilege of this support and the meaning of the award.”
Dance Victoria will also support Briana Del Mundo from Calgary, who is studying dance at The Juilliard School in New York. Briana’s previous training includes three years with The School of Alberta Ballet. Dance Victoria also awarded $3,000 towards her tuition.
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