HOUSTON – Houston Ballet has established a scholarship fund honoring their first African-American principal dancer Lauren Anderson.
In a release on Thursday, the annual Young Dancer Scholarship Fund will provide full tuition for up to four underrepresented artists who aspire to be professional ballet dancers. It is their first endowed scholarship to be named for a dancer.
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Anderson, a native Houstonian trained at Houston Ballet Academy on a scholarship starting at age 7. She joined Houston Ballet at age 18 and became the first African-American to be named principal dancer in 1990.
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“To now have a scholarship named after me means everything. Houston Ballet is the foundation of my life. I wouldn’t be me without this place,” said Anderson. “It’s where my dreams came true, and I am so proud that this scholarship will give the next generation of aspiring young dancers from underrepresented communities an opportunity to reach further than they ever thought they could go.”
The Lauren Anderson Young Dancer Scholarship fund becomes the ninth endowed scholarship for the Houston Ballet Academy.
To donate to the fund, click here.