Spring Break
Dance department struggles with budget
Emily Sears, Contributing Writer, esears@smu.edu
Issue date: 5/1/07 Section: News
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Bowen said the theater division has more money allocated for performances because it chooses to put on larger productions. Woodruff said the main stages, which are shared between theatre, music and dance divisions, are used to build scenery when a performance is not in progress because of a lack of space to do it elsewhere. This scenery is never used for dance.
Crichton said the dance division couldn't afford to make one more costume for a main stage performance of "Lucid Dreams" in fall 2006. As a result, two dancers had to share a costume, which allowed one fewer dancer onstage who otherwise would have had the chance to perform.
"We didn't even have enough funding to get the fabric to make another dress," Crichton said.
For advertising, Woodruff says the division must rely on word-of-mouth and recruiting to attract students. Advertising costs are high and the division can't afford to advertise in the college guide in Dance Magazine, a popular publication for dancers and teachers.
The division, however, has been recently quoted in articles in the magazine as a place where the Graham Company, one of the oldest and most respected modern dance companies, gets its dancers.
The theater division advertised its 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons on four large banners hung outside the Greer Garson Theatre in clear view of passing traffic on Hillcrest.
"We can't even imagine having the amount of money to do that," Crichton said.
Woodruff is optimistic despite the state of the dance facilities. She said faculty salaries have seen a 3 percent increase per year over the last 20 years, and recent grants from the Meadows Foundation have made new projects possible.
The Meadows gift provided the $13,500 cost of bringing in Douglas Becker of Ballet Frankfurt for one month this semester to set William Forsythe's "Vile Parody." Fall 2007 will welcome Yuriko Kikuchi for a similar residency to set Martha Graham's "Primitive Mysteries." The cost will be $25,000, an amount the division couldn't afford without a grant.
"Things take time," Woodruff said.
(Editor's note: the author of this article is a double-major in journalism and dance.)
Crichton said the dance division couldn't afford to make one more costume for a main stage performance of "Lucid Dreams" in fall 2006. As a result, two dancers had to share a costume, which allowed one fewer dancer onstage who otherwise would have had the chance to perform.
"We didn't even have enough funding to get the fabric to make another dress," Crichton said.
For advertising, Woodruff says the division must rely on word-of-mouth and recruiting to attract students. Advertising costs are high and the division can't afford to advertise in the college guide in Dance Magazine, a popular publication for dancers and teachers.
The division, however, has been recently quoted in articles in the magazine as a place where the Graham Company, one of the oldest and most respected modern dance companies, gets its dancers.
The theater division advertised its 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons on four large banners hung outside the Greer Garson Theatre in clear view of passing traffic on Hillcrest.
"We can't even imagine having the amount of money to do that," Crichton said.
Woodruff is optimistic despite the state of the dance facilities. She said faculty salaries have seen a 3 percent increase per year over the last 20 years, and recent grants from the Meadows Foundation have made new projects possible.
The Meadows gift provided the $13,500 cost of bringing in Douglas Becker of Ballet Frankfurt for one month this semester to set William Forsythe's "Vile Parody." Fall 2007 will welcome Yuriko Kikuchi for a similar residency to set Martha Graham's "Primitive Mysteries." The cost will be $25,000, an amount the division couldn't afford without a grant.
"Things take time," Woodruff said.
(Editor's note: the author of this article is a double-major in journalism and dance.)
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