Aaliyah Lewis and Moriba Francis, two young local dancers, have been awarded the 2016/2017 Dai Ailian Foundation's scholarship to pursue their dance studies at the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy.
This academic year marks the sixth year of this scholarship award and brings the total number of Trinidadian dancers to have been awarded this scholarship, thus far, to nine.
The Dai Ailian Foundation (DAF) was formed to honour Madame Dai Ailian, an international dance icon, distinguished principal dancer, teacher, choreographer, dance company artistic director, researcher, labanotator, lecturer and demonstrator who was born in Couva, Trinidad in 1916.
In partnership with the Embassy of the People's Republic of China and the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA), DAF has been able to grant these scholarships to young Trinidadian dancers to pursue studies in the performing arts, including without limitation dance, music and drama.
Past awardees have all expressed gratitude to be exposed to this once-in-a-lifetime cultural exchange which has given them a broader understanding of the international reach of dance in a professional setting, as well as a learning by immersion of the Mandarin language, a release said.
The returning scholarship awardees for the last academic year are Michael Mortley and Simeon Peters, who have both been excellent ambassadors of T&T during their year at the Beijing Dance Academy.
The scholarships are made possible by the support of the sponsors: Embassy of the Republic of China, American Airlines, Massy Holdings, Chinese Bicentennial Ltd and SCG International (Caribbean) Ltd.