National High School Dance Festival
Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16, 2008
Philadelphia, PA, USA
October 2007
Dear Dance Program Director:
The 9th National High School Dance Festival will take place March 13-16, 2008, at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. PA. This four-day Festival will involve approximately 1500 dance students in grades 9-12 representing high schools from across the nation and abroad. The Festival will feature approximately 300 master classes and workshops by faculty of national and international reputation, four adjudicated concerts, an exhibitor's center, college recruitment, teacher's sessions and opening and closing ceremonies.
Another feature of the Festival will be the SCHOLARSHIP AUDITION CLASSES. Students selected to audition will be among the most outstanding high school dancers in the country. The National High School Dance Festival invites you to be a part of this process by awarding a scholarship to one of these deserving students. At the previous National High School Dance Festival, over $250,000 in scholarships was offered by some of the most prestigious colleges, universities, professional studio schools, and summer dance programs in the country. We hope to increase this amount for the 9th National Festival.
Auditions will be held on Thursday, March 13, beginning at 8:00 am. Based on feedback from both recruiters and high school teachers, we are changing the format of the audition process for this Festival. "Preliminary" Auditions will take place in the morning sessions. There will be a mandatory warm-up prior to each Preliminary Audition class where dancers will also learn a ballet combination and a modern combination. These will be shown in Preliminary Auditions. At the end of each Preliminary Audition, the number of any student you wish to see in the afternoon "By-Invitation-Only" Auditions, will be collected and posted outside the audition room. These dancers will be placed in one of the afternoon sessions where they will participate in a class consisting of both modern and ballet techniques. Auditions will be completed by 4:30 pm.
We hope this new format will be more efficient. The format for the morning and afternoon sessions will be sent to you in a later correspondence.
A packet of all student application forms for audition classes will be available to you as part of your paid Registration packet. Audition packets are available only to registered Exhibitors and/or Scholarship Donors. The packets will give recruiters access to all student names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. (A parent/ guardian signature is mandatory for each student's data release.) Packets will be available for pick up the night before Auditions or at the Scholarship Auditions Registration table on the Thursday morning. Any institution deciding to award a scholarship should send a representative to choose the recipient. Please note that your representative will be viewing each of the audition classes. If you are unable to send a representative (and we strongly encourage you to do so), the Festival's Scholarship Selection Committee will award your scholarship based on your institution's stated criteria. The scholarship will be awarded at the Closing Ceremonies by the Scholarship Committee or, if you prefer, by your representative. Closing ceremonies will be held on Sunday, March 16, 2008 at approximately 11:30 am in the Merriam Theater.
We hope your school/program can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to view so many young and talented dancers at such an important Festival. AWARDING A SCHOLARSHIP ALLOWS YOU TO PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE FUTURES OF THESE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN. We thank you for this consideration.
We have enclosed a Scholarship Donor Form for your use. Please duplicate if you need extra copies and do not hesitate to contact the Scholarship Committee should you require any additional information.
The University of the Arts is located in the heart of Center City Philadelphia, where theaters, restaurants, and shops are in abundance and close by. All classes, performances and auditions will be held at the University of the Arts. Its studios and theaters are all within a short walking distance from Festival hotels. Whether it's the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House, Philadelphia Art Museum, the Phillies or the Philly cheese steak sandwich, Philadelphia has a history, diversity and cultural zest that artists find extremely appealing. Historic parks and neighborhoods are scattered throughout the city. The country's oldest residential street is in Philadelphia, along with more public sculpture and mural art than in any other major U.S. city.
We look forward to welcoming you to Philadelphia and to hearing from you in the very near future. We are hoping to have all scholarships confirmed NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 3, 2007. Thank you again for your consideration in donating a scholarship.
*Note: Receipt of Scholorship Donations have been extended until Feb 8th, 2008*
Sincerely,
Dr. Kathryn Kearns
215-848-7576
215-881-7450(fax)
kfk2@psu.edu