Last February, Stichting Dansersfonds ’79 awarded scholarships to two students of the National Ballet Academy: Christian Mathot (17) and Mingus de Swaan (16). The boys were selected during a public class – given by teacher and former principal dancer Karin Schnabel – where they were judged by a jury comprising (alongside Schnabel) the famous ballet couple Alexandra Radius and Han Ebbelaar (founders of the Dansersfonds), international ballet teacher Marian Sarstädt, dancer Bonnie Doets and dance critic and former dancer Ine Rietstap.

Every year, the Dansersfonds organises one of these public classes, for which Dutch dance academies can select their best students. During the class, the professional jury judges the quality and potential of the students and awards scholarships to the most talented youngsters. This time, they included Christian Mathot from NBA 7 and Mingus de Swaan from NBA 6. The scholarships each consist of a sum of 1500 Euros, to be used by the winners for their development as dancers. Han Ebbelaar: “They can do so in a variety of ways, but we encourage them to do courses and traineeships abroad, in particular. It’s good for dancers to come up against international competition”.

Fortieth anniversary of Dansersfonds
Since its foundation in 1979, the Dansersfonds has awarded over a hundred scholarships. The fund also presents annual Incentive Awards and Merit Awards. This year, the awards will be presented at Dutch National Opera & Ballet, on Thursday 14 November, at the fund’s annual Ballet Gala. This year, the gala will be extra festive in spirit, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Dansersfonds.

www.dansersfonds.nl 

Photos: Antoinette Mooy