NCHS Junior Launches ‘New Canaan Dance Academy Foundation’ [UPDATED]

Scarlett Stewart, a junior at New Canaan High School, has been involved in competitive dance since she was 11.

As part of the New Canaan Dance Academy company, the sport and art form has seen Stewart and fellow dancers practice and rehearse 20-plus hours per week for four major annual events as far away as Boston, New Jersey, Orlando and even abroad.

New Canaan Dance Academy

Yet as she progressed, Stewart also noticed something that she found unsettling when competing with companies from some city programs such as those in Bridgeport and Hartford—namely, those dancers were unable to travel as far for competitions or access the same training, classes and costumes.

“I just felt if they had more resources, they’d be striving for more in the dance world,” Stewart said.

So last fall, she brought an idea to Elaine Young, studio director and founder of NCDA: Launch a nonprofit arm to raise money for gifted dancers who need the help.

“I got the idea because I really wanted to share my love for dance,” Stewart said. “There are so many incredible dancers who really want the most opportunities they can get, but dance is a very expensive sport. I was thinking of ways that I could help talented dancers raise money because there’s competition fees, costumes are really expensive and classes are very expensive for dance.”

New Canaan Dance Academy

Since then, the teen assembled a team and founded the New Canaan Dance Academy Foundation (here on Instagram). And soon, the nonprofit organization will host its first annual NCDAF Gala.

All proceeds from the event will go to support two organizations that align with the NCDAF mission. One is The Klein Theater in Bridgeport’s after-school program, the only tuition-free, in-theater arts program in the city.

“It’s a place where parents are able to drop off their kids after school and by donating money there, they can advance their program and give more opportunities to the dancers there,” Stewart said.

The other NCDAF Gala beneficiary will be the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, which delivers access to education and training for dancers through scholarships for secondary and college programs.

At the Gala, NCDA company dancers such as Steart will perform, and attendees are invited to purchase a table or participate in an auction to fundraise for the programs. Stewart said she envisions an annual Gala organized and supported by an NCDAF board that turns over so that more local people can get involved. 

“Once I graduate, I’ll still come back for the gala, and we’ll still have people working on it who are members of [NCDA] company,” she said. “They help us make decisions, and we’ll pass it along to new main people each year.”

“It’s not just about scholarships, it’s about making sure talent and passion aren’t limited by financial circumstances,” Stewart said. “And it’s about investing in the next generation of artists and dancers, creating opportunities where they might not exist otherwise.”

[Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to remove a link to the gala and initial event details as well as a reference to the event in the headline. We will update again as soon as the gala is rescheduled.]