The Jeune Scène d'affaires's philanthropic initiative rewarded
L’École supérieure de ballet du Québec congratulates Natacha Engel, the president and founder of L’École supérieure’s Jeune Scène d’affaires, who has earned the 2020 ARDI Prize for innovation in cultural philanthropy. Awarded by the Brigade Arts Affaires de Montréal (BAAM) and HEC Montréal’s Carmelle and Rémi-Marcoux Chair in Arts Management, this prize recognizes the philanthropic daring and innovation of a person 40 years of age or under, who is an up-and-coming member of the business community. This award also comes with a $2,500 bursary, which Ms. Engel graciously donated to the foundation of L’École supérieure’s branch of the Jeune Scène d’affaires, in order to support the young dancers of tomorrow.
“I may be the instigator behind the Jeune Scène d’affaires, but it is thanks to a tremendous team of passionate, determined, visionary and strongly committed team that the Jeune Scène d’affaires has accomplished as much as it has and I feel that we have won the ARDI award together,” stated Ms. Engel after the ceremony, which was held last Tuesday at the Cinéma du Musée. “Congratulations are due to our entire team and everyone else involved with us,” she added.
This recognition caps the fifth anniversary of the Jeune Scène d’affaires, which has made it possible to award some one hundred bursaries to students, allowing them to pursue their training at L’École supérieure. The Jeune Scène d’affaires also made it possible to **support graduates in their professional integration process **as well as allow close to 1,000 youngsters to develop their interest in dance.
“We are fortunate in being able to rely on such a dynamic young patron who has effectively rallied a business community around her for the benefit of our young artists,” noted Alix Laurent, Executive Director of L’École supérieure who went on to add: “Natacha’s love of dance is contagious and we are particularly proud of the creativity she has shown in organizing the famous Pointes & nœuds papillon fundraising events.”
A former student of the professional division of L’École supérieure de ballet du Québec, Natacha Engel is now cochair of its foundation. She has been a member of L’École supérieure’s board of directors since 2014, the year she founded Jeune Scène d’affaires, a group of philanthropists who seek to support emerging dancers and develop an interest in dance among business people, in an effort to create a new dance audience and philanthropists. Holder of a Master’s degree in international property law, a Master of Transnational and Common Law, and an MBA from HEC Montréal, she worked as an attorney in major business law firms and held leadership positions with the Jeune chambre de commerce de Montréal. The Deputy Director of the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office until recently, Natacha Engel is now senior policy advisor to the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade. She is also chair of the board of the Virginie Brunelle dance company and has been a member of the board of Vie des arts magazine.