Money for Dancers to Start Their Career...And to Recareer

We know that there are some financial supports out there for performing artists like dancers, to further their careers.  I'll run by a couple here, as well as a grant to re-career to something else.

The Yard, Inc. has residences of four weeks for dance artists.  Two are offered: one for dance companies who have been working together for at least three years, and the Bessie Schonberg Individual Choreographers Residency allows as many as four independent choreographers and eight dancers in a residency in Martha's Vineyard to work on their craft.  The residencies offer housing, space, mentoring, stipends, and a chance to perform.  They also offer internships with housing, a small stipend, free tickets, and some other benefits for those who want mentoring and experience with arts management. 

The Princess Grace Foundation offers scholarships for dancers at non-profit schools, or fellowships for dancers at non-profit companies.  The also offer financial help for students of other performing arts and playwriting, choreography and film.  The 2012 deadlines have passed, but there will be announcements for next year.

For Native American dancers, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation has fellowships in visual arts, filmmaking, music, dance, literature, and traditional arts and crafts for Native Americans, Native Alaskans or Native Hawaiians.  The 2013 applications are now closed, but keep an eye open for next year.

And for those on their way out Career Transition for Dancers has scholarships for current and former dancers to finance re-careering education or business endeavors.  One scholarship provides scholarships for graduate level education in fields outside dancing; the other gives small scholarships and seed money for post-dance career launching.  They also provide post-career and career transition counseling. 


 

Paid Internships, Courtesy of the Government

While cruising around to see what Ohio's Department of Development has turned into under the new privatization program, this caught my eye: paid internships through the Third Frontier Program.  Third Frontier is Ohio's attempt to nurture high-tech industries in the state.  For those majoring in the sciences or math, who are at least college sophomores and carry at least a 2.5 GPA, there may be paid internships at Ohio firms in high tech. 

For further fun and games, I did a google search with "paid internships" and site:.gov (the site restriction keeps out all those ads from commercial services), and found a passle of programs, if you are willing to do your internship with the government.  If you are interested in law enforcement, the FBI offers paid internships.  The Department of Energy has a few programs--some for law students, and one, the Mickey Leland program--for minorities and women in the sciences.  The CIA has undergraduate internship and co-op programs.  The Agriculture Department has several paid internship positions, including some for Native Americans and Asian Americans. The National Parks Service has paid internships, too, especially in the fields of conservation and history--and they link to a page with even more paid internships in non-federal positions.  The U.S. State Department has a lot of internships and student work opportunities.

Making the Difference, an organization dedicated to public service, has a page with some good tips for searching for federal internships.  As they point out, some agencies will not post on general websites like usajobs.gov.  You should look at the website and job postings of every agency in which you have a subject interest to see if they post internships.   

Paid Internships for Minorities

Paid internships are tough to find, but a few are out there.  Some organizations have programs especially to develop the leadership skills and career prospects for minority students. One is an internship by Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute for Hispanic undergraduates. It provides 12 weeks (8 for the summer session) serving an internship in Congress, a stipend, and possibly credit for school—depending on which school they attend.  The deadline for application for fall session is April 27^th.

The Asian Pacific American Institute also has a summer internship in Washington that covers eight weeks in either Congress or another government office, such as the White House or cabinet.  Entry is closed for this year, but see their website for next year’s information.

In the hard sciences, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering has internships in engineering for African American, Latino, and American Indian engineering students.  They also have scholarships and pre-college programs to encourage minorities to enter the field of engineering.

The J. Paul Getty Foundation offers a Multicultural Undergraduate Internship for African-American, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander students that allows them to work for ten weeks, forty hours a week, in the arts.  Students need not be art majors.

A lot of books on the topic, sadly, are several years old.  For more up to date information on internships,  go to your local library and try the scholarship series by Gail Ann Schlachter and R. David Weber on scholarships.  There are volumes for African-Americans, Hispanics, women, Asian-Americans, and members of the military and their families.   You can also look in the Foundation Grants to Individuals Online using the term “internships.”  Another newer book is How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job: Your Complete Guide to Opportunities, Internships, Resumes and Cover Letters, Networking, Interviews, Salaries, Promotions, and More! by Lily Madeleine Whiteman.