Off The Lane Announces The Ann Reinking Scholarship

Off The Lane announced today the formation of The Ann Reinking Scholarship, the first of which will be presented this November in conjunction with the birthday of the late legendary dancer/choreographer/teacher and actress Ann Reinking, who passed away last December.

The Ann Reinking Scholarship will be awarded annually to a young dancer moving to New York City to help them in their artistic endeavors. Inspired by Reinking's own story of moving to New York from Seattle with little more than a dream, this will help support a young dancer not only monetarily, but also to create a community, home base and network of people in the industry to set them on a path of success and give them a leg up in the business. The program is devoted to creating this legacy for Annie that will carry on her humanity, love, and artistry, not only as a dancer, but as a choreographer and collaborator in the next generation of artists. The scholarship in the amount of $5,000 will be awarded once a year to a young aspiring dancer with BIG dreams in the BIG city!

In a statement, Peter Talbert, Ann Reinking's husband said "I believe Annie would have loved having her name on the Ann Reinking Scholarship Program. Like so many young dancers coming to New York, she struggled to find a foothold in a strange city. Short of money and friends, Annie persevered and found her way forward, thanks to some helping hands. This program will offer others following in her footsteps that helping hand, to ensure that they can succeed in their desire to make their dream come true. That's a legacy worthy of her name and reputation."

The Award is open to all young dancers whether they be modern, ballet, jazz or headed for Broadway. Submissions will begin in May,

The Advisory Board for the Ann Reinking Scholarship includes (in alphabetical order) Hinton Battle, Gregory Butler, Gary Chryst, Mindy Cooper, Dylis Croman, Charlotte d'Amboise, Erzebet-Liz Foldi, Joel Grey, Marilu Henner, Bebe Neuwirth, Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, William Whitener, Peter Talbert and Chris Reinking Stuart.

The Ann Reinking Scholarship joins many of the programs at Off The Lane including the Mentorship Program, where vetted professionals in the creative arts are paired with juniors and seniors to help them transition from student to professional. Other programs include BOOST, the Speaker Series and School Partnership Programs .Off The Lane is led by Kristal Mallookis (President) and Jen Donohoo (Vice President & Program Director) with Mindy Cooper (Advisory Board Chair) of the Scholarship Program.

For all information on The Ann Reinking Scholarship and Off The Lane go to www.offthelane.org Follow @offthelane on social media.

Photo credit: Martha Swope