Iris Tomlinson Fund

The Iris Tomlinson Fund (ITF) enables young people to fulfil their dancing potential by providing bursaries to contribute towards the cost of the activities offered by the Children and Youth Dance programme at The Place. These activities include our Midweek and Saturday class programme, youth companies, additional workshops and holiday projects.

The Fund is dedicated to Iris Tomlinson in recognition of the work she did in shaping the young dancers' programme at The Place over the last three decades. Iris left The Place in autumn 2011 and this fund honours her commitment to the development of young dancers.

The ITF aims to cover the cost of at least 25% of the value of the course you are applying for but can be up to 50% depending on demand and if your application meets our criteria.

How do I apply?

Please email us at childrenandyouthdance@theplace.org.uk to let us know that you would like to apply to the ITF fund. We will then issue you with an application form to fill out on behalf of your young dancer, and talk you through paying a deposit to secure your young dancer’s space whilst your application is considered.

Your application will not be considered until you have reserved your space with a deposit. This deposit will be refunded if your ITF application is unsuccessful and your young dancer cannot, therefore, take up a place on the programme, however, if your application is successful, this deposit is non-refundable.

The ITF application form is means-tested and must be completed in full and returned by the deadline in order to be considered.

Deadlines

For each new term or event you will need to complete a new form and return it to us by the specified deadline.

• For the regular term, the deadline is the first Saturday of term
• For holiday projects and workshops, the deadline is one week before the start of the project, though please note that applications for one-off projects are assessed on a rolling basis so please submit at your earliest convenience

You will be contacted by email, where possible in advance of the project. However, due to the volume of forms received for the Saturday classes we will need the first two Saturdays of term to get back to you.

Our panel meet and assess the forms, after which you will be contacted with the outcome of your application. Your outcome amount along with your deposit is deducted from the overall fee and instruction will then be provided on how to pay the remaining amount.

Payment Plans

Payment plans are available to anyone, not just ITF applicants. Applicants can arrange a payment plan with us to divide the course fee into a number of instalments on agreement with a member of the CYD Team. Usually, we offer a plan of three instalments per term; please contact the Children and Youth Dance team for further information or for a more tailored plan that works for you.

2 Week Trials

We offer a two-week trial for anyone new to the children and youth dance programme at The Place and would like to try out their class before committing to the full term. Our two-week trial costs £30 and can be booked via our website, the two-week trial applies to the first two weeks of term only. Once the trial period has finished, we will be in touch to find out if you would like to continue for the rest of term. Trial spaces for each class are limited. Please don't hesitate to contact the Children and Youth Dance Team if you have any further questions.