Opening Doors. Removing Barriers. Building Futures.
Ballet training requires years of discipline, resilience, and dedication. For many promising young artists, however, the financial demands of elite training can present real obstacles.
The Barbara Bours Brady Scholarship Fund directly addresses that challenge—providing meaningful tuition assistance and related support so students can focus fully on their craft, their artistry, and their dreams.
Most significantly, the fund makes OBT’s pre-professional OBT2 program tuition-free. This milestone ensures that emerging artists can bridge the gap between student and professional life without financial burden, gaining invaluable performance experience while continuing their development at the highest level.
An Investment in the Art Form Itself
OBT School serves students from early childhood through advanced levels, cultivating strong classical technique, artistry, and performance experience in close alignment with the professional company.
“An investment in training is an investment in the future of ballet itself. The Barbara Bours Brady Scholarship Fund ensures that talented dancers—regardless of financial circumstances—can pursue excellence at the highest level. We are deeply grateful for this extraordinary generosity.”
— Dani Rowe, Artistic Director
“This fund will make a meaningful difference for our students, particularly those who might not be able to continue training without additional scholarship support. It allows young artists to focus fully on their growth and their craft.”
— Katarina Svetlova, School Director
“This major gift of $560,000 is both visionary and deeply impactful. It strengthens our ability to support young artists across the organization and reinforces our commitment to access, excellence, and sustainability.”
— Shane Jewell, Executive Director
A Generational Impact
Philanthropy has always played a vital role in sustaining ballet. Gifts like this do more than support individual students—they shape the future of the art form itself.
Today’s scholarship recipients are tomorrow’s company artists, choreographers, teachers, and leaders. They are the dancers who will inspire audiences, mentor the next generation, and carry ballet forward.
The Barbara Bours Brady Scholarship Fund stands as a lasting testament to the power of generosity—and to what is possible when a community believes in its artists.
