Congratulations to the UW Department of Dance undergraduate award recipients for the 2023-2024 school year!
Evelyn H. Green Endowed Scholarship
Recipient: Maisy Neill
Evelyn Green joined the University of Washington faculty in 1967 and taught all levels of ballet. She became head of the Division of Dance in 1976, and in the same year won a Distinguished Teaching Award. Professor Green retired in 1981 and passed away in 1993. Among her most famous students are Mark Morris, artistic director of the Mark Morris Dance Company; Harry Groener, an actor who won a Tony award for his performance on Broadway in Cuts; Stanley Perryman, who was a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey and the Dance Theater of Harlem; and Chad Henry, Seattle composer known for his 1980s hit Angry Housewives.
Maisy Neill, 2023-2024 Recipient of the Evelyn H. Green Endowed Scholarship
Maisy Neill, 2023-2024 Recipient of the Evelyn H. Green Endowed Scholarship
This endowment is funded by Professor Green’s estate as well as memorial gifts from friends and colleagues.
James Vamenta Fesalbon Endowed Dance Scholarship
Recipient: Frankie Luong
James Vamenta Fesalbon entered the University of Washington in 1992, intending to pursue a pre-pharmacy course of study. To add variety to his science courses, Mr. Fesalbon enrolled in an introductory dance class and discovered a new world of possibilities. He went on to explore a range of techniques and cultural traditions in Dance, ultimately declaring a major in Dance, and performed in several UW concerts with Dance, Music, and Drama. Mr. Fesalbon continued his dance education, earning a Master's degree in Dance at Texas Woman's University along with multiple certifications in arts administration. As a professional dancer, Mr. Fesalbon performed with David Rousseve | REALITY at On the Boards, West Side Story at the Village Theatre, Miss Saigon and several other musicals at Tacoma Musical Playhouse. As an arts advocate, he has been an active fundraiser for arts organizations such as the Pacific Northwest Ballet.
In 2008, Mr. Fesalbon established this endowment to support academically meritorious students with demonstrated financial need – including students who have overcome adversity and students whose personal pathway to a career in dance has been non-traditional such as having limited dance experience before attending UW.
Mary Aid de Vries Endowed Scholarship
Recipients: Kaitlyn Pitts and Char Hertel
Char Hertel and Kaitlyn Pitts, 2023-2024 Recipients of the Mary Aid de Vries Endowed Scholarship
Mary Aid de Vries was an accomplished dance educator who served as a University of Washington faculty member for more than forty years, starting in 1921. Upon her passing in 1963, her husband established this scholarship in her memory. As one of the oldest honors in the UW Department of Dance, this award has a long history of supporting “worthy and needy” students – selected by the faculty scholarship committee – engaged in dance study, dance education, and dance performance at UW.
UW Department of Dance Scholarship Fund
Recipient: Taara Elahi
This fund is made possible through direct donations from alumni, family, friends, and other supporters of undergraduate dance majors at the University of Washington. Each year the faculty in the UW Department of Dance identify top students who have distinguished themselves by embodying the Department’s mission of promoting and elevating the value of play, creativity, critical thinking, and embodied knowledge for our students and global communities.
