Performing Arts Center Scholarships

It is our goal at the Performing Arts Center of Connecticut to instill in our students the responsibility to be contributing artists and members of their local and artistic community. The Performing Arts Center recognizes the need to share the arts with the community and takes responsibility for proliferating and supporting performance based arts.

It is for this reason that the center has given out over $134,000 in Scholarships in its first four years ($20,000 in 2004-2005, over $23,000 in 2005-2006, over $39,000 in 2006-2007 and this year 2007-2008 we have already awarded over $52,000) to talented and deserving students from Bridgeport, Trumbull, Monroe, Milford, Fairfield, Newtown, Shelton, Easton and Stratford for dance, acting, voice and musical instrumentation. All scholarships are given on a talent and/or need basis. (For more information on how our Scholarship Program works contact PACC.)

In addition, we established “The Steven A. Merrihew Performing Arts Scholarship” for graduating seniors of Trumbull High School. This scholarship is given to those who will go on to pursue a career in the field of performing arts in college. In 2007 we raised $7,000. Four students, Kenny Metzger, Christina Chiarelli, Paul Tiesler and Jaclyn Siegel shared the proceeds of our benefit concert. In 2006 at our first scholarship benefit concert we gave the first scholarship of $2,000 to Bethany Joy. Our goal is to raise more money every year to help one or more deserving students pursue their dreams. Applications and information on the scholarship can be obtained by calling PACC at 203-372-ARTS(2787) or directly through Career Counseling, Guidance or Mr. Tony Pijar, Dean of Students at Trumbull High School. The Performing Arts Center of Connecticut welcomes the opportunity to help any organization or school establish scholarships for the arts. Please contact us !

Our performance company, IN MOTION: PACC dances at many diverse performances from professional venues at City Center Dance, Dancers Responding to AIDS’ (DRA) SUNY Purchase and Aaron Davis Hall Benefit Concerts, Solstice in Times Square: Dancers at the Crossroads, CT Meets NY, Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts Benefit, The Nutmeg Games at Harbor Yard Arena and more; to many community sponsored events which include: State of Connecticut Special Olympics, Trumbull Special Olympics, Senators Community Foundation for Child Abuse, Trumbull Arts Commission performances, Haiti Lumiere de Demain and Westfield Works Wonders. We have been asked to perform at elementary and middle school career days, college dinners, arts and dance festivals. Our students donate their time to teach ballet, modern and hip hop at inner city schools. IM:PACC has raised over $10,000 in the last ten months for DRA, which comes back to our Connecticut communities four-fold. Recently, we donated a $2,000 dance scholarship, costumes and a director’s chair to the Brown family for Extreme Home Makeover in Bridgeport.

It is our hope, to not only teach technically proficient dancers who can perform and entertain, but to instill in all our students the responsibility to be positive and contributing members of their artistic and local communities. We believe children learn by example, and it is for this reason that we make a conscious effort to do whatever we can for our own students and for the community at large.

Come by and ask about our Scholarship Program and see what makes us different! Our faculty are not only highly trained professionals in their respective fields (they bring to each student a level of instruction which focuses on method and technique found in New York City studios), but more importantly they instill in each student a respect for their art. They encourage each student and applaud their differences and individual abilities. Our hope is to provide students with an atmosphere that not only teaches the arts, but also the humanities!