Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center (TWDCC) facilitates a working home for professional world & contemporary dance artists, while providing dance education that is committed to access, equity, and excellence.
The program provides need-based scholarships to low-income and under-represented youth in Santa Cruz County, enabling access to quality dance education. Serving up to 20% of TWDCC’s students, this donation-supported initiative fosters discipline, confidence, and personal growth. By making dance accessible to all, we build a more inclusive community, empower young people, and demonstrate dance’s transformative power, nurturing talent regardless of financial circumstances.
Last season (Sept. 2023-Aug. 2024), we supported 41 students (24 full + 17 partial scholarships) totaling $52,430 and increased our scholarship program to include classes, costumes, Youth Company fees, etc. For this season, through Aug. 2025, we already have 16 new full scholarships and five new partial scholarship applicants in addition to our current roster. With $60,000, we could increase the capacity of our program by 14%, providing up to 50 students with full and partial scholarships.
The human potential that my daughter has reached thanks to the SCOPED program at TWDCC is limitless. Throughout her 10 years as a scholarship recipient, Shadja achieved valuable life skills such as focus, dedication, community, artistic expression and self empowerment through the experience of a world class dance arts program and training. This would not have been possible without the SCOPED opportunity.
Noelle Correia, parent of a TWDCC student
