Nancy Wood Scholarship Fund

The Nancy Wood Scholarship Fund is named after Nancy Wood who has served as a Board Member, School Manager, Executive Director, and Board President of WAB. She and her husband, Don, were founding members of Ballet Arkansas in Little Rock under the guidance of Mrs. Lorraine Cranford. Don Wood was Treasurer for Ballet Arkansas and Nancy was the Guild President from 1978 until their move to Fort Smith in 1981. Nancy has transformed her vision of a dance company and school where correct dance technique and discipline is taught. It has been her insistence on quality that has been the driving force behind Western Arkansas Ballet. It has always been Nancy’s desire to promote the art of dance in the area and to provide the best possible training to any child who has the desire to dance regardless of their financial means.

The Nancy Wood Scholarship Fund was established by the Western Arkansas Ballet Board in 1993 to provide funds to young people who have the desire to pursue the art of dance but no financial means to do so. The scholarship was named in honor of the founder of Western Arkansas Ballet, Nancy Wood. Monies from this fund pay for dance tuition, shoes, workshops, and camps. Young people from across the state have received scholarships from this program, but the majority of the recipients are students at The Academy of Western Arkansas Ballet.

To receive a scholarship, the student must complete a formal application which includes comments and evaluations from the dance instructor, as well as two other teachers.  Scholarships are awarded by the Nancy Wood Scholarship Fund Committee.

We are receiving an increasing number of scholarship applications. Some requests are as small as helping pay for shoes, while others need help with tuition or summer dance camp. Your tax-deductible donation would be appreciated in order to increase our scholarship funds available. Gifts may be made in honor or memory of a special person, perhaps your own dancer. Western Arkansas Ballet is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization.