Despite Northwestern’s steep tuition rates, various dance groups on campus are forced to rehearse in dorm basements, off-campus gymnasiums and their own apartments.
The dance department at NU only has two mirrored classrooms: the cellar and the ballroom in the Marshall Dance Center. Not only does this leave dance majors without space, but BLAST, Graffiti Dancers, Fusion, Boomshaka and other student groups struggle to find places to practice, as well.
It is rare for student groups to find on-campus dancing space unoccupied. With several student groups fighting for dance space, it is best to reserve the space in advance.
“You can only sign up a week at a time,” said Communication senior Antonette Balestreri of the dance spaces. “Monday morning is a mad dash.”
Balestreri, who was substituting for Terri Jo Garner Englund, the usual coordinator for the dance department’s space allocation, said “the kids signing out the space know the drill. Things have been running very smoothly.”
Despite the advantage she has as a dance major, Balestreri often has problems finding space to rehearse.
“I’m choreographing for Waa-Mu tonight in my room,” she said. “You start to get very creative when you can’t find space.”
Communication senior and Graffiti Dancers producer Marni Lewis has driven her dancers to off-campus rehearsal locations in the past, she said. Graffiti has rehearsed in Evanston at Ultimate Fitness, 823 Emerson St., and the Evanston Athletic Club, 1723 Benson Ave.
Though these spaces have proved reliable areas to rehearse, traveling off campus causes dancers additional inconveniences.
“It would really be safer for everyone if the companies didn’t have to travel to off-campus spaces,” Lewis said, “especially with all of the robberies going on recently.”
A choreographer and Fusion Dance Company dancer, Weinberg sophomore Kathy Lin rehearses her dances “anywhere possible that’s big enough.”
“We did a lot of practices in sorority houses this time, in the Shepard common room and in the Foster-Walker basement,” Lin said. “We rehearse wherever we can find.”
Occasionally the on-campus gyms can be used to rehearse, but “Blomquist double books all the time,” Lin said. “I think it would be extremely beneficial if we could all get together and figure out booking.”
According to Communication junior Jen Sharber, co-class coordinator of Blast, Blast and Boomshaka worked together last quarter to create a schedule for the Foster-Walker basement.
“It worked really well for us and Boomshaka,” Farber said. “It got to be such a nasty battle that we just decided to divide it for ourselves.”
Despite their disagreements, the groups remain on agreeable terms with one another.
“All of us recognize that its really tough to get spaces,” Lin said. “We’re all supportive, but are like, ‘Man, I wish the university had more dance space.'”
Reach Maureen Rohn at [email protected].
