DUE February 9, 2026

Scholarship Audition Registration Form Due

Please review all pertinent information and forms before submitting your form. No on-site registrations.

Students must have pre-registered to be admitted to the scholarship auditions classes.  

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List of 2026 Scholarships

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Eligibility

• College scholarships are only open to students in grade 12

• All other scholarships are open to students in grades 10-12

• A maximum of 10 students per school may audition

• Students in grade 12 auditioning for scholarships must have already applied to the colleges who are offering scholarships prior to the festival audition

  • Students must contact the dance divisions of those institutions and notify them of their participation in the National High School Dance Festival auditions prior to the festival

  • Students should call the institution directly for any additional information

• Students may only audition for those scholarships they can accept based on dates, travel and financial obligations

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Components of the audition

Students will be asked to move in a variety of dance forms. 

 

Audition Attire:  Students should be dressed in appropriate audition attire. Ballet shoes or socks are required for the ballet component. If you have had pointe at an advanced level and feel comfortable wearing pointe shoes for the entire ballet portion of the audition, you are encouraged to do so. Students must remove shoes for the modern component. No warm-ups or sweats are permitted. It is suggested students wear convertible tights.

 

Audition Classes

• Festival scholarship auditions will take place on Thursday, March 5, 2026 beginning at 8 a.m.

• Students will be placed in audition classes. Classes will run between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

  • The supervising teacher will be informed of audition times and audition numbers of each student prior to the festival

  • If you are planning to send students to these auditions, please make appropriate travel plans to ensure arrival in time for your scheduled audition time

  • Please do not request specific audition times

  • If any student has not been contacted regarding your audition time by February 15, 2026, lead teacher please contact Deborah Thorpe at rhsdf@gsarts.net

• Students will participate in classes consisting of ballet and modern techniques, and there may be a brief improvisational element at the end of the modern segment

• Each audition class is approximately 1 1/2 hours in length

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Selection and Notification

• Some students will receive acceptance into a program that may or may not be accompanied by a scholarship

• Recruiters will either contact auditioning students via the audition call board (notice board) or notify the head teacher if a recruitment conference is necessary

• All conferences should be completed by 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, 2026

• Scholarships will be awarded based on the stated criteria from each institution

• Recipients will be selected either by a representative from the institution awarding the scholarship or by their designee

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SCHOLARSHIP AUDITIONS SCHEDULE (subject to change) We apologize for the necessity to start so early in the morning

Thursday, March 5, 2026: Virginia Arts Festival building, Hixon Theatre (2nd Floor), 440 Bank Street, Norfolk, VA 23510

7:30am- Registration open for Class #1 Pick up audition numbers at audition site 

8:00-9:45am- Audition Class #1

9:15am- Registration open for Class #2 Pick up audition numbers at audition site 

10:00-11:45am- Audition Class #2

12:15pm- Registration open for Class #3 Pick up audition numbers at audition site 

1:00-2:45pm- Audition Class #3

2:15pm- Registration open for Class #4 Pick up audition numbers at audition site 

3:00-4:45pm- Audition Class #4

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