A black and white profile of a woman is in the foreground against a dark gray background with white text reading "Iris Merrick SCHOLARSHIP FUND" and a logo for "ARTSW Art$WChallenge".

Tu regalo para el Fondo de Becas Iris Merrick abre las puertas del estudio para j&oacute;venes bailarines dedicados cuyas familias no pueden permitirse la matr&iacute;cula. Las becas honran la creencia de Iris de que el talento y el trabajo duro&mdash;no los ingresos del hogar&mdash;deben determinar qui&eacute;n puede entrenar en la Westchester Ballet Company. Cada contribuci&oacute;n apoya la ayuda financiera basada en necesidades, las tarifas de las clases y los gastos de actuaci&oacute;n para que los estudiantes locales puedan seguir una formaci&oacute;n pre-profesional en ballet junto a sus compa&ntilde;eros. Gracias por ayudarnos a mantener la misi&oacute;n de WBC: excelencia en ballet, acceso para todos.&nbsp;

Tu regalo para el Fondo de Becas Iris Merrick abre las puertas del estudio para jóvenes bailarines dedicados cuyas familias no pueden permitirse la matrícula. Las becas honran la creencia de Iris de que el talento y el trabajo duro—no los ingresos del hogar—deben determinar quién puede entrenar en la Westchester Ballet Company. Cada contribución apoya la ayuda financiera basada en necesidades, las tarifas de las clases y los gastos de actuación para que los estudiantes locales puedan seguir una formación pre-profesional en ballet junto a sus compañeros. Gracias por ayudarnos a mantener la misión de WBC: excelencia en ballet, acceso para todos.

El Fondo de Becas Iris Merrick

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Your gift to The Iris Merrick Scholarship Fund opens the doors to dedicated young dancers whose families cannot afford the costs associated with ballet training and performance. Scholarships honor Iris&rsquo;s belief that talent and hard work, not household income, should determine who can participate. You can double the impact of your contribution by making it before December 15, 2026, as part of ArtsWestchester&#39;s 2026 Art$WChallenge.* Every contribution supports need-based financial aid for class fees and performance expenses so students can pursue pre-professional ballet training alongside their peers.&nbsp; A scholarship fund that reflects the vision of our founder.Westchester Ballet Company was founded in 1950 in Ossining, New York, by Iris Merrick, a visionary educator and artist who transformed the cultural landscape of Westchester. A scholarship student of the legendary Michel Fokine and an early performer on Broadway, Merrick believed that every child deserved access to the discipline, beauty, and joy of ballet.&nbsp; &ldquo;I started the ballet school so children would know what it is like in the theater,&rdquo; she once explained. She opened the doors of her school to all, regardless of a family&rsquo;s ability to pay. Merrick&rsquo;s dream was to use ballet as a tool not just for artistic development, but also for personal growth and community building. She was also among the first in the country to found a regional ballet company focused on young dancers. For more than three decades, Merrick directed WBC with passion and ingenuity, staging original productions, training young dancers, and fostering a tradition of excellence rooted in accessibility. After her retirement in 1980, she remained active in the dance world, continuing to teach and inspire well into her later years. Her vision lives on in every WBC performance and every dancer who has passed through its doors. The Iris Merrick Scholarship Fund, established in September 2026 by her descendants, will provide scholarships to dancers performing with Westchester Ballet Company who demonstrate talent, dedication, and financial need. With continued support from the Merrick family and contributions from the Westchester Ballet Company community, the fund is expected to grow each year. The long-term goal is to build a permanent endowment that will generate annual scholarship support for an ever-growing number of deserving dancers. Thank you for helping us uphold WBC&rsquo;s mission:&nbsp; Excellence in ballet. Access for all.&nbsp;

Your gift to The Iris Merrick Scholarship Fund opens the doors to dedicated young dancers whose families cannot afford the costs associated with ballet training and performance. Scholarships honor Iris’s belief that talent and hard work, not household income, should determine who can participate. You can double the impact of your contribution by making it before December 15, 2026, as part of ArtsWestchester's 2026 Art$WChallenge.* Every contribution supports need-based financial aid for class fees and performance expenses so students can pursue pre-professional ballet training alongside their peers.  A scholarship fund that reflects the vision of our founder.Westchester Ballet Company was founded in 1950 in Ossining, New York, by Iris Merrick, a visionary educator and artist who transformed the cultural landscape of Westchester. A scholarship student of the legendary Michel Fokine and an early performer on Broadway, Merrick believed that every child deserved access to the discipline, beauty, and joy of ballet.  “I started the ballet school so children would know what it is like in the theater,” she once explained. She opened the doors of her school to all, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Merrick’s dream was to use ballet as a tool not just for artistic development, but also for personal growth and community building. She was also among the first in the country to found a regional ballet company focused on young dancers. For more than three decades, Merrick directed WBC with passion and ingenuity, staging original productions, training young dancers, and fostering a tradition of excellence rooted in accessibility. After her retirement in 1980, she remained active in the dance world, continuing to teach and inspire well into her later years. Her vision lives on in every WBC performance and every dancer who has passed through its doors. The Iris Merrick Scholarship Fund, established in September 2026 by her descendants, will provide scholarships to dancers performing with Westchester Ballet Company who demonstrate talent, dedication, and financial need. With continued support from the Merrick family and contributions from the Westchester Ballet Company community, the fund is expected to grow each year. The long-term goal is to build a permanent endowment that will generate annual scholarship support for an ever-growing number of deserving dancers. Thank you for helping us uphold WBC’s mission:  Excellence in ballet. Access for all.

The Iris Merrick Scholarship Fund

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