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New major makes students dance for joy |
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Monday, 09 October 2006 |
by KATIE ANN HENDERSON
Sports Reporter
Appalachian State University’s department of theatre and dance was established in 1989. Now, 17 years later, the department is making a huge leap with the development of a dance studies major.
The major will be accessible in the fall semester of 2007.
Dr. Ray Miller, department chair and professor, said the new
development was created to achieve a long-term goal and to fulfill
student interests.
“Genuin Active Image | Katie Ford | The Appalachian
Seventeen years after the opening of the theatre and dance department, a proposal is waiting at the state level to make a dance studies major available for the fall of 2007.
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e student interest [in dance] has increased significantly over the past 10 years,” he said.
The dance studies major will incorporate classes in both dance and
theatre to provide students with knowledge in technical theatre,
costuming and stage management.
“We want to include other areas of interest across nature and combine
dance with other fields such as dance therapy and dance anthropology,”
Miller said. “We want to broaden students’ minds and possibilities with
this major.”
The proposal is signed by Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock and is waiting for approval on the state level.
Miller predicts the state will collect outside sources and information and declare the major in three to six months.
“We are hoping to know by the beginning of spring semester,” he said.
Appalachian’s dance department has gone through several changes to
prepare for its new major. These changes include the addition of a new
dance wing in the Varsity Gym, the hiring of additional dance
professors and an increase of dance classes.
The department hopes to offer higher levels of ballet and jazz, as well
as offer a supplementary form of jazz called tap dance. Western
dance-form classes are also being considered and will be offered upon
availability and student interest.
Previously, a dance minor was the maximum possibility for students
interested in dance. Senior philosophy and religion major Desiree C.
Ricker thinks the new major opens opportunities for new dancers and
current students.
“I think a lot of dancers who are looking at ASU would take it more
seriously because [dance] would now be a major and not just a minor,”
she said. “And serious dancers, who are already here, would be more
likely to be involved and participate.”
The dance studies major will also create more opportunities for
students who are looking to pursue a career in performance or teaching
dance, Ricker said.
“In dance, you work closely and intimately with people, which gives you
people skills and other opportunities that you might not have with
other majors,” Ricker said. “[Dance] is an art form that makes students
more open-minded because of the different people they are around.”
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