Dance and Drama Awards

The Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) are scholarships funded by the Learning and Skills Council for individuals who want to become professional dancers, actors or stage managers. The Dance and Drama Awards are given to students who display the most talent and potential at their audition.

The Awards offer greatly reduced tuition fees but the student will be asked to make a contribution. They also provide access to income assessed support to help with living costs and student fees contribution.

You will only be eligible to receive a Dance and Drama Award if you take the Trinity College London qualifications. These courses last between one and three years and are at National Diploma or National Certificate level. Elmhurst Sixth Formers take the National Diploma in Professional Dance. This is a Level 6 qualification, which is recognised, in the new Further Education Framework, as the vocational equivalent of an honours degree.

The Dance and Drama Awards do not fund students taking degree courses.

The student must be an EU national at the start of the course and have been resident for the three years immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course.

For further information about the awards and eligibility, please visit the DaDA website at www.direct.gov.uk/danceanddrama.

Dance and Drama Awards Funding News – January 2012

The Department for Education has been working with colleagues in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) and Skills Funding Agency (the Agency) to consider a longterm solution to providing support for the most talented young people and adults to access specialist dance and drama provision in the UK.

In December 2011, the departments concerned reported that they need further time to consider the options, and that they have therefore decided to postpone the implementation of the new arrangements to commence in September 2013 rather than September 2012 as was anticipated.

The DaDA scheme will therefore be supported for a further, final transitional year in 2012/13. This means that students showing exceptional talent during the autumn 2011 audition period and who start courses in September 2012 will continue to be offered awards under the DaDA scheme, and will be funded to the end of their courses.

This will be the final transitional year, before a longterm solution is implemented.

For information about scholarships for 11 -16 year olds, click here.

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