TSV Scholarship Program
Applications for our Winter 2025 Scholarship Program are NOW CLOSED!!
Former Scholarship Recipients: Kaili Che & Brianne Chan
Photography by: Carla Alcántara
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Stay tuned for our Spring 2025 Scholarship in March 2025.
2025 Scholarship Recipients
We are thrilled to welcome these scholarship recipients for Winter 2025:
Photo by Caio Silva
Ysadora Dias (she/ela) is an emerging artist based in so-called Vancouver, drawing her creative spark from improvisation and deeply inspired by her Brazilian roots and culture.
Since moving to Vancouver, she has collaborated with many artists and performed with Coastal City Ballet, Amok Project, MascallDance,
Co. Erasga, Raven Spirit Dance, and Inverso Productions.
Recently, Ysa has participated in the Re-Centering Margins Residency, STAND Festival, and was part of the Performance Research Project (PRP) with Inverso Productions.
Mia Pelayo is a Filipina-Canadian dance artist who grew up on the unceded territories of the Tsawwassen and Musqueam First Nations Peoples (Delta, BC). She completed her formal dance training at Modus Operandi (Vancouver, BC), EDAM’s training scholarship program (Vancouver, BC), and B12’s summer workshops (Berlin, Germany).
She has had the joy of collaborating with The Biting School, MascallDance, Dance//Novella, Francesca Frewer, Erika Mitsuhashi, and Alexa Mardon. She has created her own works such as her dance film, Risk which premiered at the Modus Operandi Sunset Screening in 2020, her solo, Remnant at the Modus Operandi Focus Group Showing (2021), and a dance theatre duet, Two Girls Collide with Madeleine Cruz at Chalk it Up! (2024).
When Mia is not dancing she is pouring into her hometown as a group fitness instructor, studying Psychology at Simon Fraser University, or sharing a delicious meal with family and friends.
Photo by Albert Normandin
Krystal Tsai is an emerging artist born and raised in Kaohsiung, Taiwan now based in Vancouver, BC Canada. She is engaged in world-building artwork, and site-specific movement work a explores interactive relations such as verbal words and incense within her performance.
For the past few years, she has been exploring different ways to convey her bodily sensations and stories as young immigrant through movements, hoping to deliver a visual and physical experience to her audience.
While building her creative practice, Krystal also has experience in figure modeling, stage/production management, and art administration.
Photo by Colleen Bayati
TESTIMONIALS
“I think the scholarship program is a great opportunity to go after if you’re wanting to train consistently, get to know people in the community, and want to learn about different approaches to contemporary dance. I think it’s especially excellent if you yourself are not quite sure how to approach your personal practice since you’ll be able to try on so many and see the nuances in how people build their approach.” — Anna Wang-Albini, Spring 2024 Scholarship Recipient
“I am very grateful for this opportunity to train regularly and meet amazing artists through this program. This program provided me with the consistency I desired while I transition into being a freelance dancer and consider what training is beneficial for me now.” — Kaya Tsurumi, Winter 2024 Scholarship Recipient
“The TSV is a safe and welcoming environment to train, explore, and discover movement and the Vancouver dance company” — Renata Monteón, Spring 2024 Scholarship Recipient
“The TSV scholarship program was great! It was exciting to try on a new class every week and have the space to work on my interests. The community is very supportive and there were lots of opportunities to connect and grow relationships. I really enjoyed this opportunity and can’t wait to take classes with TSV soon!” — Nicole Pavia, Fall 2023 Scholarship Recipient
“This was one of the most memorable and supportive experiences I’ve encountered! This scholarship program truly encouraged and created time for self-directed practicing and learning. I appreciate the enthusiasm, care, and passion from this organization and their ability to continue fostering the growth of artists within the dance community.” — Kaili Che, Winter 2023 Scholarship Recipient
“As a recent graduate Modus Operandi, the TSV Scholarship program gave me the privilege to keep learning and has helped me with transitioning from a student to a professional dance artist. It gave me a wonderful way to engage myself with new artistic and physical practices while also connecting with members of the dance community from all over the world. I had a great experience working with the TSV team and can't wait to keep taking class.” — Brianne Chan, Winter 2023 Scholarship Recipient
“Highly recommend this program! It was a great way to meet new people and build connections in the community. The variety instructors was very beneficial to my training in finding different approaches to movement. Would do it all over again if I could!” — Oksana Augustine, Fall 2022 Scholarship Recipient
“I've never experienced such diversity in dance. Through the different styles and teachers I got to explore my body in new ways, but also my mentality concerning movement in general.” — Dror Manuel Zipori, Fall 2022 Scholarship Recipient
