TSV Scholarship Program
Former Scholarship Recipients: Kaili Che & Brianne Chan
Photography by: Carla Alcántara
Stay tuned for upcoming calls to the Scholarship Program
The Training Society of Vancouver (TSV) is offering two scholarship opportunities for dance artists on the unceded & stolen territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱w.7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, colonially known as Vancouver. TSV is supported by and in partnership with The Dance Centre which is where our classes take place.
We offer contemporary dance technique classes, taught by local and visiting dance artists with teaching practices. TSV invites applications from emerging, mid-career, and established artists or anyone dedicating themselves to expanding their knowledge and training in dance. TSV's goal is to cultivate a welcoming community and provide opportunities for growth.
Fall 2026 Scholarship Recipients
We are thrilled to welcome these scholarship recipients for Fall 2026:
Max Hanic is a queer actor, dancer, singer and instructor who graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta Fine Arts Acting program and studied contemporary dance at La Faktoria Choreographic Centre in Pamplona, Spain for the 2021/2022 period and trained at Modus Operandi in Vancouver from 2024-2025. He is currently based between Vancouver and Edmonton.
Max has been given training scholarships by EDAM (Vancouver), The Good Women Dance Collective (Edmonton) and Circuit-Est (Montréal) as well as trained at Tic Tac Art Centre (Brussels), Espacio Tiempo (Madrid) and at the One Body One Career Countertechnique intensive in Amsterdam. He has performed with the Edmonton Opera, Firefly Theatre and Circus, Amoris Projects, Catch the Keys Productions and in his own choreographies; as well as worked with choreographers Susanna Hood, Lin Snelling, Molly Mcdermott, Francesca Frewer, Minggao Zhang, Jennifer Mcleish-Lewis, Gerry Morita and more. He has been nominated for a Sterling award and is the recipient of the 2025 Gerda Hnatyshyn award for contemporary dance..
Photo by Nanc Price
Rhyan McCorkindale is a queer/trans Canadian performer, creator, and facilitator working across dance, clown, theatre, and puppetry. A settler of mostly Gaelic descent, they live and create on the unceded lands of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. Their interdisciplinary practice moves between experimental theatre, movement, devised performance, clown, and puppetry, with a particular interest in embodiment, play, transformation, and relational performance. Rhyan has collaborated and performed in works created by Mardon + Mitsuhashi, Jaewoo Kang, Hazel Meyer, and Katie Gartland-Close/Davey Calderon, and has presented work at festivals and venues across Vancouver and Toronto.
Recent performance credits include two original theatre and puppetry pieces, Hearts & Bootz presented at ahmm (2026) and ButtHEAD presented at Revolver Festival. Their work has been supported through residencies in Indonesia, South Korea, and across British Columbia, including with CHIPS Collective, Leña, and MascallDance's Bloom Residency. Rhyan's training includes contemporary dance, contact improvisation, Pochinko clown, bouffon, Fitzmaurice Voicework®, puppetry, and long-term qigong practice. They are a recipient of a 2025 EDAM scholarship, a 2024 BC Arts Council Early Career Development grant, and a 2022 Canada Council for the Arts Research and Creation grant.
Since 2023, Rhyan has facilitated weekly community clown sessions and previously taught movement-based classes for queer and trans communities through Qmunity.
Photo by Dayna Szyndrowski
TESTIMONIALS
“I think the scholarship program is a great opportunity to go after if you’re wanting to train consistently, get to know people in the community, and want to learn about different approaches to contemporary dance. I think it’s especially excellent if you yourself are not quite sure how to approach your personal practice since you’ll be able to try on so many and see the nuances in how people build their approach.” — Anna Wang-Albini, Spring 2024 Scholarship Recipient
“I am very grateful for this opportunity to train regularly and meet amazing artists through this program. This program provided me with the consistency I desired while I transition into being a freelance dancer and consider what training is beneficial for me now.” — Kaya Tsurumi, Winter 2024 Scholarship Recipient
“The TSV is a safe and welcoming environment to train, explore, and discover movement and the Vancouver dance company” — Renata Monteón, Spring 2024 Scholarship Recipient
“The TSV scholarship program was great! It was exciting to try on a new class every week and have the space to work on my interests. The community is very supportive and there were lots of opportunities to connect and grow relationships. I really enjoyed this opportunity and can’t wait to take classes with TSV soon!” — Nicole Pavia, Fall 2023 Scholarship Recipient
“This was one of the most memorable and supportive experiences I’ve encountered! This scholarship program truly encouraged and created time for self-directed practicing and learning. I appreciate the enthusiasm, care, and passion from this organization and their ability to continue fostering the growth of artists within the dance community.” — Kaili Che, Winter 2023 Scholarship Recipient
“As a recent graduate Modus Operandi, the TSV Scholarship program gave me the privilege to keep learning and has helped me with transitioning from a student to a professional dance artist. It gave me a wonderful way to engage myself with new artistic and physical practices while also connecting with members of the dance community from all over the world. I had a great experience working with the TSV team and can't wait to keep taking class.” — Brianne Chan, Winter 2023 Scholarship Recipient
“Highly recommend this program! It was a great way to meet new people and build connections in the community. The variety instructors was very beneficial to my training in finding different approaches to movement. Would do it all over again if I could!” — Oksana Augustine, Fall 2022 Scholarship Recipient
“I've never experienced such diversity in dance. Through the different styles and teachers I got to explore my body in new ways, but also my mentality concerning movement in general.” — Dror Manuel Zipori, Fall 2022 Scholarship Recipient
