Who would have thought that you could get college credits for shaking your bootie? Or for twisting, leaping, and twirling around for a few hours per week? The Tufts dance program gives students the opportunity to do just that by offering a dance curriculum that is open to every member of the Tufts community, regardless of skill-level or body shape.
Although the dance program has been around for decades, many students are unaware that taking a few dance classes, taught in Jackson Gym through the drama department, can add up to a minor in drama and dance.
"I didn't know you can take a dance class for credit," sophomore Matt Gasbarro said.
But this pervasive unfamiliarity may soon change. Professor of Beginning and Intermediate Modern Dance Lynn Frederiksen says the dance program is trying to offer more dance classes while making them more accessible to students.
While program members have been working to include additional curricula, they find themselves in what associate professor and head of the dance program Alice Trexler calls a "no growth phase," with little, if any, funds or manpower to expand. The program also has limited access to facilities, sharing Jackson Gym with student dance groups as well as other organizations that use the space, such as the fencing team.
The program, Trexler said, is in a "reduced form compared to when I first came in 1978."
Trexler is the only full-time tenured professor in the program, which also includes two half-time professors. The dance program has a small office in Jackson, but has no office staff.
Things, however, may be looking up. With the promotion of Daniel McCusker from part-time professor to half-time professor, the dance program is now equipped to offer an additional class per semester. According to members of the dance program, McCusker, a critically acclaimed Boston choreographer, has been well received at Tufts.
With more staff time, this academic year has seen the addition of dance classes to the Tufts course guide, including a ballet class offered in both the fall and spring semesters. Kathak Dance, which exposes students to the basic footwork and movements of northern Indian dance, is another addition.
The students who have discovered these classes say they were attracted for a variety of reasons. Sophomore Turner Savard, who is enrolled in Performance Ensemble, chose to take the class simply for the experience. "It allows you to have an creative outlet," Savard said.
Sophomore Jessie Khamsyvoravong, a student of Dance Movement and the Creative Process, used her dance class to get some requirements out of the way. "I picked it because it fulfills an art and a world civilization requirement," Khamsyvoravong said. "It's also very fun and out of the ordinary. There is no set routine."
Some students, like Intermediate Ballet student sophomore Valerie Wencis, are interested in the particular dance forms. "I love ballet, and I haven't taken it since sixth grade," Wencis said. "I think most people take the class because they are really interested in ballet... it's good exercise and you learn and perfect technique."
There are eight classes offered for the upcoming spring semester, ranging from African American Dance to Beginning Ballet. In addition to more traditional dance classes, the dance program offers at least one form of non-western dance each semester. Trexler says the program is looking to uphold the liberal arts ideals of the University, which encompass a global focus.
Gasbarro, who was initially unaware that she could dance for credit, says he is unfamiliar with the program's efforts to offer a wide variety of classes. "I don't even know the scope of the dance program," he said. "I kind of assumed it was ballet and stuff."
The Tufts dance program is different from what many students may have experienced before. While dance programs at other universities and dance institutions, such as the American Dance Academy, are highly selective about body shape and previous experience, and teach solely movement-based curricula, Tufts tries to engage the student mentally - not just physically - through dance.
The program "promotes creative thinkers, not just tools for choreographers," Trexler said, adding that the program boasts a wide audience. There is "a full range of people from all departments, including engineering, from freshman to seniors."
"Conservatory model, this isn't," McCusker said.
And the dance classes offered through the drama department are not focused primarily on dancing, but rather incorporate reading and literature into the curriculum, something many students do not realize before they take the class.
"There's reading?" McCusker said, mimicking his shocked ballet students at the beginning of the semester. Said Trexler: "We're teaching about thinking about dance as well as teaching movement."
