11/20/2025
Announcing The Foundation Trust Teen Artist Fellowship at Urbanity Dance!
The Foundation Trust and Urbanity Dance are proud to announce the launch of The Foundation Trust Teen Artist Fellowship at Urbanity Dance, a paid initiative leveraging dance to inspire creative and professional success among Boston high school students ages 14–19.
This eight-month program (January–August 2026) provides the selected student with hands-on experience, mentorship from Urbanity Dance mentor Miranda Lawson, and paid work while supporting their growth as artists and leaders. The fellowship is part of Urbanity’s Teen Leadership Program, where participants design their own experience by pursuing one or more of three specialized tracks - Teaching Assistant, Choreography, and Arts Administration - with the fellowship serving as the core opportunity within the Choreography track.
The program requires an average commitment of five hours per week, paid at $17/hour, with flexible scheduling to accommodate school and other obligations. Fellows will have free access to Urbanity’s studios for rehearsals, classes, choreography development, and mentor meetings. Up to two hours of direct mentorship each week helps students plan, experiment, and refine their creative ideas, culminating in a live community showing.
Serving teens from Urbanity’s South End neighborhood and across Greater Boston, the fellowship welcomes students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, races, ethnicities, and financial statuses who are passionate about dance and its many career paths to apply by December 5, 2025.
The fellowship is made possible through the support of The Foundation Trust, a private operating foundation with a dual mission to develop new programming in partnership with small to medium-sized New England nonprofits to better serve high-risk populations and elevate underrepresented communities. Advancing inclusivity in the arts is a core priority of the Trust, and this new fellowship with Urbanity Dance directly reflects that commitment.
Dr. Jana Pressley, Senior Training Associate at The Foundation Trust, shared: “We are enthusiastic to support the mission of Urbanity Dance, and have been inspired by their commitment to providing accessible dance training for youth of all socioeconomic backgrounds. The Emerging Artist Fellowship began with partners in Melrose, and it is an honor to expand the fellowship to support this unique opportunity for diverse youth with a passion for dance and choreography across Greater Boston.”
Urbanity’s Teen Alumni have gone on to dance professionally with companies including Philadanco and LA Dance Project, while others have become dance teachers, arts administrators, scientists, researchers, political strategists, and nonprofit leaders—making meaningful contributions in Boston and beyond.
Applications for The Foundation Trust Teen Artist Fellowship at Urbanity Dance are now open. For more information or to apply by December 5, visit https://www.urbanitydance.org/foundation-trust-teen-artist-fellowship.
About Urbanity Dance
Urbanity Dance was founded as a non-profit arts organization in 2011 by Director Betsi Graves with the mission to engage, inspire, and empower individuals and communities through the art of dance and movement. This mission is manifested through Urbanity's organizational pillars of Company, School, and Community, which strive to achieve three objectives: to propel dance to the forefront of Boston’s cultural landscape; fill an unmet demand for access to training in diverse dance forms; and use dance as a tool for fostering bodily autonomy and creativity in local schools and community spaces. Through its three South End studios and work in the community, Urbanity is proud to provide high-quality danceexperiences to over 10,000 dance-lovers of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities every year. To learn more visit urbanitydance.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Donations to support Urbanity Dance’s mission-based work, including the The Foundation Trust Teen Artist Fellowship can be made by visiting https://www.urbanitydance.org/new-donate.
