With the addition of a new dance course this semester, individuals involved in the University's Campaign for Dance said they remain optimistic about establishing a permanent addition to the University's performing arts offerings.
University officials have spent over a year and a half debating the addition of a major or minor dance program in the College. Faculty member Sage Blaska, a founder of the Virginia Campaign for Dance, said the new course, Dance Movement Composition as Art, is a large development in the movement.
The course explores dance and society and is part of the Studies in Women and Gender (SWAG) interdisciplinary department.
Blaska has played a crucial role in the drive to develop a dance major and continues to work with University officials to promote the program and find funding.
"We have seen a positive step toward adding a dance program," Blaska said, referring to the addition of the course. "There has been enthusiastic support from [College Dean] Ed Ayers, along with support from the drama and music departments," she said.
Ayers, who recently replaced Melvyn P. Leffler as dean, said that "it's widely recognized that there is a great demand for dance, and I am doing my best to attract resources so that developing a dance program is possible."
Established in 1998, the Virginia 2020 Fine and Performing Arts Planning Commission has been central to facilitating the development of the proposed major. Joan Fry, special assistant to the president and a commission member, acknowledged the continued support for the program, but said "funding is still an obstacle for all the new programs. As much as we want to do everything that has been proposed, we have to set our priorities and work from the top down."
Although still in planning stages, a proposed expansion of the drama building - which is included in the commission's report - would include a dance studio, as would the proposed new music building.
Alexa Kane, third-year College student and a member of the Virginia Dance Company, is one of many students who support efforts to establish a dance program at the University.
"Even though I might not see the direct effects of a full blown dance major, I hope that one day my brothers and sisters can," Kane said. "U.Va. is a well-rounded university, and the addition of a dance major would be a step in the right direction."
Kane also said that prospective dance majors would not be the only ones to benefit from such a program.
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