On Monday 29th January, MÓTUS Dance, a local dance agency invited individuals to donate to a fund to create a bursary to support dancers in Milton Keynes - by Tuesday, almost £30,000 had been received.
Three organisations, MK Community Foundation, Milton Keynes City Council and MÓTUS Dance have come together to create the Helen Parlor Dance Bursary. A bursary for dancers or choreographers at any stage of their career working in any dance form, to develop their work, create new shows or engage in training/education.
The bursary has been set up in memory of MÓTUS’ founder and artistic director Helen Parlor; an incredible driving force for dance development. Helen passed away in her early 40’s, in 2023, leaving a huge gap in the lives around her as well as in the dance world.
Grants have come in through their Just Giving page, direct to MÓTUS and through MK Community Foundation matching every donation received £1 for £1.
“To ensure the bursary will be a true legacy and benefit dancers each year, the board of MÓTUS ensured the bursary is set up as an endowment fund, which means only the interest earned on the pot of money is spent each year, meaning the bursary will have a very long life” Lucy Davies, Chair of MÓTUS told us.
“MK Community Foundation are pleased to be managing the Helen Parlor Dance Bursary Fund. With our match funding programme, this means that contributions to the fund can be doubled by the Foundation. We are thrilled to be partnering with MÓTUS and MK Council to ensure this bursary makes a real difference to dancers in Milton Keynes for many years to come”. - Ranjit Singh, Philanthropy Director
The bursary itself will be officially launched later this year, if you would like to support the bursary, you can donate here and your donation will be doubled by MK Community Foundation.
To sign up for updates on the bursary, visit the website and click on the Bursary Information Request.
