BRATTLEBORO — Company of Muses recently announced that Ellery Witman of Brattleboro has received the nonprofit scholarship organization's first Colleen McCloskey-Meyer Ballet Scholarship.
Witman has been studying ballet at Brattleboro School of Dance (BSD) since 2012. She has spent countless hours training in class and performing onstage, first as a member of the school's Junior Dance Company and now as an apprentice to the Senior Dance Company, as well as a student demonstrator and student teacher.
Over the past six years, Witman has also performed in every BSD Spring Dance Concert as well as its performances of The Nutcracker, in which she has danced roles in the Chinese divertissement, the Waltz of the Flowers, the Marzipan divertissement, and the Waltz of the Snowflakes, according to Company of Muses Board Member Jennifer Moyse.
“I cannot think of a dancer who better represents the spirit of this scholarship than Ellery Witman,” Moyse said in a news release. “Her dedication to ballet has been consistent and the opportunity to take additional ballet classes through this scholarship will encourage her growth as a dancer.”
Soon after McCloskey-Meyer's death in 2017, the scholarship was established to honor her love of ballet, which was nurtured through her studies at Brattleboro School of Dance.
Funding will be sustained through directed giving as well as an annual, by-donation class taught at BSD between Christmas and New Year's Eve, this year on Dec. 27 at the dance school at 22 High St.
“The timing of the class was chosen to encourage a gathering of community that Colleen valued so greatly,” said current BSD owner Bridget Struthers.
Scholarships for dance
Company of Muses, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the scholarship of area youths in the performing arts, are stewards of the Colleen McCloskey-Meyer Ballet Scholarship Fund.
The nonprofit funds three other scholarship programs: Tuition scholarships for Brattleboro School of Dance, the Kathleen Keller Higher Education Scholarship, and the Community Outreach Scholarship. It also produces live dance performances in the area, including a bi-annual production of The Nutcracker.
The McCloskey-Meyer scholarship awards will be given each fall, spring, and summer semester to students primarily based on their dedication to ballet, with a demonstration of financial need as an additional influence.
It is “meant to provide supplemental support for dancers who need to increase the number of classes they are taking each week in order to progress to a higher skill level,” Moyse writes. “It is also available to support dancers with an interest in ballet who, for whatever reason, have not been able to add ballet to their lives yet.”
Dancers at Brattleboro School of Dance and their families are encouraged to apply for this award even if they may not meet the financial criteria for the general BSD tuition scholarship fund. They should indicate on the application why they are interested in ballet training.