Ernestine Ford Graduate Scholarship in Dance

Dr. Darwin Prioleau established the Ernestine Ford Graduate Scholarship in Dance at SUNY Brockport to honor her godmother, Ernestine Ford, for Ms. Ford’s lifelong wisdom, strength, and caring.

Dr. Prioleau is a professor in the Department of Dance and a former dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at The College at Brockport. Previously, she served as chair of the Department of Dance.

Dr. Prioleau trained as a dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the International Center de Danse in Cannes, France. She has worked intensively with such dance masters as Alvin Ailey, Jimmy Truitte, Joyce Trisler, and Matt Mattox. Her professional career spans more than 12 years in New York, North Carolina, and France, dancing with various dance companies and in several off-Broadway musicals.

As a free-lance modern and jazz dance choreographer and master teacher, she has worked with professional dance communities and professional schools in Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, and Europe. Her areas of expertise include jazz, modern, dance pedagogy, and choreography.

Nationally, Dr. Prioleau is actively involved in arts education advocacy. She was nominated for the Kent State (Ohio) University President’s Medal in recognition of her extraordinary and unique service to the school. She received the 2006 Outstanding Leadership award from the National Dance Education organization of which she is a past president .

To be eligible for the Earnestine Ford Graduate Scholarship in Dance, applicants must be accepted into the Department of Dance at the graduate level, demonstrate exceptional talent, and demonstrate financial need. Preference will be given to a student belonging to an under-represented minority group from the United States or abroad.