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Anne Laurier Scholarship recipients share their artistic aspirations

July 23, 2026   ·   0 Comments

Written By Constance Scrafield

The three winners of Dufferin Arts Council’s $3,000 Anne Laurier Scholarships were announced earlier this month, and the Citizen had the chance to speak with each of them about their future.

Their choices within the broad world of art were quite varied, one from the other.

Kaitlyn Paula, who received the scholarship, began dancing at three years old. Her brother had seen the movie Step Up when he was six, as Paula described it, with a friend, and they decided that dance was for them.

By the time Paula was three, she told the story, “My brother was obsessed with dance and so, when I was three, my mother said she might as well send me to dance studio with him.”

That decision has made Paula very happy.

The Citizen’s interview with Paula was a chance telephone call, and it was the perfect time, as she was waiting for her turn to perform in a competition at the National Dance Honours.

Paula remarked, “I am competing in every style of dance. I’m competing for a few days as one of the top 40 dancers out of 100, ages 17 to 18.”

The dance style list includes tap, hip-hop, ballroom, and contemporary as a modern dance.

“Oh yes and jazz and ballet,” she included.

Paula confirmed. “The old pros are an influence still. All the big dances are always an influence.”

“I am a dance history buff,” she added.

Dance is all. From the time Paula spends making up new choreography, to learning two new dances just before another competition, getting ready for university in Pennsylvania, she is very and happily preoccupied.

She commented that her parents, who are not dancers, are very proud of her and her brother. Her brother is her inspiration.

She said of him, “The way he dances and the way he moves is so beautiful.”

Paula’s ambition is a career in dance, and the scholarship has made a real difference to her.

“It is very helpful with my confidence,” Paula said. 

Savannah Bourne won her scholarship for her animation, which is her passion and the career she wants to follow. However, her slant for her cartoons is the path of darker stories and even horror.

She talked about how a cartoonist gets ahead, beginning with a good education. Bourne attended Humber College, the animation school there, as she described it.

“My tone is quite dark,” she said. “Drawing a little horror, a feeling you can explore that hasn’t been done before.”

To offer a reason for knowing how dark feels, Bourne explained that three years ago, she lost her grandfather to cancer, saying, “We were really close, and I learned about how the feelings around grief is normal, like the worst part of the world that gets covered up.” 

Bourne does volunteer work teaching young “kids,” but she doesn’t want to expose the youngsters to dark pictures.

She explained she has not started stories yet and that she is learning more about drawing in concept.

Taking hints from Stephen King’s psychology to the inner workings of what makes us human: “People are complicated; what makes us think,” she pondered. “My dad is a horror fan but my mom isn’t.”

“To define horror, it’s what’s under people’s skin – those are the psychological thrillers, the stuff that makes you think, think hard,” Bourne added.

When a character overcomes the darkness and becomes a better person, being able to grow, “In the end, there is a light in the end. I want to help people come through it.”

For her, the scholarship has been the most important award, even though she has won others. 

“To be recognized will matter for a long time,” said Bourne. 

Meanwhile, Audrey Hawkins, who also received the scholarship, has her sights set on the theatre. A long time with Orangeville Music Theatre (OMT) has given her chances to be on the stage and to learn so much from the crew, the people who run the well-known and loved community theatre.

“Last year, I did Alice in Wonderland. I was one of three parts of the Cheshire Cat,” she said.

Before OMT, Hawkins was involved with LP Stage Productions in Shelburne, where she and her family were living. It was a great source of enthusiasm, as Hawkins is passionate about theatre and her role in it.

Her live theatre background was her parents taking the family downtown to Toronto to see shows performed on the Mirvish stage.

“I was obsessed with people on a stage,” she said. “And my mom told me, ‘You can do that.’”

Hawkins is looking forward to attending the University of Toronto to become a specialist in theatre and drama studies. The U of T course covers studio training, plus history and analysis.

“I want to be an actor. I always love acting live in the class,” she said.

Last summer, she saw Hades Town at Theatre Orangeville’s Young Company’s production. The show and performance impressed Hawkins deeply, to the point that she commented that she could not believe the performers were not already professionals.

At the moment, Hawkins has not sought an agent. 

Hawkins said, “My parents have supported me, meaning in the fall, for me just to have the opportunity to study the performing arts; just to be able to work at it.”

Audrey Hawkins was very thrilled to receive the scholarship.

“It meant a lot to me. I have been looking at other grants and scholarships because university is expensive and the program I’m going into is expensive. So, this scholarship is a big boost for me.”

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