After a five year hiatus, Santa Barbara Dance Alliance (SBDA) is back and energized to serve the greater Santa Barbara dance community with outreach programs, scholarship opportunities and new dance performance events when health and safety allows.

Driven by new executive director Meredith Cabaniss and a new board, SBDA is offering a fresh round of youth dance education scholarships, plans for forthcoming digital dance programs, and a return to the stage in the near future.

The arts community has been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, being among the first to close and likely last to re-open for normal operations.

Like many other arts organizations, Santa Barbara Dance Alliance was on the brink of restructuring when the lockdown hit. In spite of a huge loss of momentum and possibility in the performing arts, Cabaniss and the new board worked to re-incorporate SBDA as a new nonprofit group, and lay the groundwork for what’s to come.

The new board consists of president Brandon Whited (assistant professor of dance, UCSB; secretary Rachyl Pines (dancer, dance educator; treasurer Jessica Haro (dance educator, stage manager, writer); and members Tracy Kofford (SBCC director of dance/artistic director, SBCC Dance Company), and Ashley Kohler Reynolds (dancer, choreographer, dance educator).

With a donation from Santa Barbara Bowl, SBDA will be offering limited scholarships to aspiring dancers in grades K-12 for training at local dance studios, training programs and private lessons.

The executive director and SBDA board members will review applications and award 10 scholarships to young dancers who live in Santa Barbara County and are under age 18. The application period runs April 1-14. Awarded funding can be applied to spring classes following disbursement in late May.

SBDA welcomes applicants representing all genres of dance training and practice, and will award scholarships without regard to race, ethnicity, nationality, residency status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion.

For more, visit sbdancealliance.com/youth-dance-scholarships. Sign up for the mailing list on the SBDA website to receive current information on upcoming events and opportunities.