Dance Education Fund (2024-2025)
Nickerson-Rossi Dance (NRD) is funding select students K - 8th Grade who commit to the PSUSD and DSUSD ELOP dance program (good attendance and express interest in continuing their dance training). NRD will provide these students with dance education throughout the school year at their Academy in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and DHS, in select sessions (August - December 2024 and January 2025 - May 2025). Additionally, Nickerson-Rossi Dance has successfully launched its BOYS DANCE! The program is an incentive to encourage more young boys to take dance classes!
The second part is for ACF to continue its support of the Dance Education Fund, which supports Nickerson-Rossi Dance’s pre-professional education programming for middle and high school students. This program is created to provide committed students access to college dance programs and professional industries in dance matched with quality dance education in classical arts. The funds requested for this program can reach up to 14 students, provide 50% tuition coverage, and sustain their dance training from August 2024 - June 2025
Various Dance Education Scholarships (2023-2024)
Nickerson-Rossi Dance is actively on a mission to provide quality dance education matched with equitable opportunity. The funds approved by Anderson Children’s Foundation has created the following opportunities…
Palm Springs Dance Academy: 15 scholarships - August 2023 - May 2024
Awarded through audition process scheduled on June 30th, 2023 and July 30th, 2023.
Nickerson-Rossi Dance: 23 seats for Boys and Girls Club to attend NRD 11th Anniversary - January 2024
Awarded with collaboration with Boys and Girls Club Directors and Board
Palm Springs International Dance Festival: 23 seats for Boys and Girls Club to attend 8th Annual Festival - April 2024
Awarded with collaboration with Boys and Girls Club Directors and Board
20 scholarships for PSUSD High School Students for PSIDF - April 2024
Awarded with PSUSD Arts Coordinator, Barbara Anglin, and the high school dance teachers within PSUSD High Schools.
A total of 81 scholarships have been made possible for this 2023-23 grant cycle
Contact Name: Chad Ortiz
Cell Phone: (760) 992-6075 / (951) 970-2906
Email: info@nickersonrossidance.com
Dance Programs (2021-2022)
NRD will hold a student scholarship audition at the end of summer 2021 that will provide the awarded students full and partial coverage of their annual tuition at the Palm Springs Dance Academy. A panel of sponsors and professionals in the community will participate in the selection of the scholarship. Students are asked to perform a solo to showcase their dance abilities to ensure they are ready for the extensive training, and then asked to share their stories and why they would benefit from a scholarship. NRD currently provides scholarships for five students and wishes to reach the number to ten.Then, October 21 - 24, 2021, NRD presents their annual Palm Springs International Dance Festival that celebrates all cultures and backgrounds in dance nationally and Internationally. NRD is an arts partner with Palm Springs Unified School District and annually provides scholarships to Desert Hot Springs High School. We would like to extend our reach and provide scholarships to Indio High School. A student that is provided a scholarship will participate in 5 master dance classes from world-renowned master instructors, perform in a student showcase that celebrates young aspiring talent (roughly ages 10 - 22), receive a ticket to see a professional performance featuring seven international dance companies, and will take away festival merchandise as a memory of their experience. Lastly, NRD would like to continue its therapeutic dance programming at the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center into the Fall of 2021. The Children’s Center provides individual, group, and family therapy along with special programs that address issues associated with children suffering the effects of child abuse and neglect, and who are at risk to be abused. NRD has recently become an arts partner with the center, using dance as a medium to encourage confidence, social skills, introspection, artistic creativity, and allowing students to have their voice to be heard - but through movement, instead of words. This program is lead by the Artistic Director, Michael Nickerson-Rossi, assisted by Executive Director and Principal Dancer, Chad Ortiz, and is overseen by the Clinical Programs and Outreach Director, Araceli Martinez.
This program is scheduled for 8 weeks at a time and meets once a week for 1 hour