Tsawwassen's Emily Klukas is one of three local residents receiving provincial scholarship funding from the B.C. Arts Council this year.
The 17-year-old received a $5,950 award to study dance in Germany at the prestigious Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts, where she has returned for her second year.
Klukas describes an intensive and demanding itinerary of ballet and other dance lessons six days a week, interspersed with practical and theoretical classroom training ranging from music theory to dance history.
"It's really encouraging being surrounded by teachers and students who are all so passionate about what they're doing, and although the program is intense and can be physically draining, I feel as though it's pushing me in the right direction," she says.
"I am so grateful for this experience of studying what I love in a culture where there is so much history behind what I'm doing."
Klukas' formal dance training began at the Deas Island Dance studio in Delta, under the guidance of Janet Gittens, whom Klukas credits with inspiring her to pursue her dreams.
Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington says the province has a major role to play in supporting and investing in the arts and culture sector.
"The B.C. Arts Council scholarship will help Emily enter the dance world having honed her considerable talents at one of the best schools in the world. I wish her and all our local grant recipients all the very best."
As B.C.'s lead agency for arts funding and development, the B.C. Arts Council enlists the expertise of the province's artistic community to evaluate grant applications independent of government. For a full list of recent recipients, and for information about the grant application process, visit www.bcartscouncil.ca.
