The dozen women enrolled in Sage Blaska's "Dance/Movement Composition as Art" lounge on gym mats piled against the far wall of the makeshift dance studio.
Clad in bright tank tops and athletic shorts, the dancers focus on center stage, as a fellow classmate takes a deep breath before throwing herself into a dramatic performance. Sprawled out on the slightly battered wood floor , the dancer combines crisp, calculated movements with fluid, spontaneous motions. The room remains respectfully quiet until the woman holds her final position.
Catching her breath, the performer's look of intense concentration fades into a shy grin as she takes a bow.
Blaska gracefully unfolds her legs, signifying the end of class.A ballet devotee by the age of 9, Blaska, who earned a master's in dance from Temple University, calls dance her "sport" and "religion."
She gestures around the slightly musty room, located in the front of Memorial Gymnasium, where she holds her class twice a week. "Dance has no location at U.Va.," Blaska said. "So I had to scrounge."
It was just two years ago when the University permitted her to instruct her course, the first-ever accredited dance class.Since then, she has added another: Repertory Dance.
But with her background in and love for dance, she wants more for the dance community at the University.
Blaska, who serves as coordinator of the Third-Year Medical Student Clerkship, has found like-minded students with which to share her passion for dance. Along with Blaska, those same students are who run the Campaign for Dance.
The organization, which holds that the study of dance should be a fundamental component of the University's curriculum, was founded in 2000 to serve as the mouthpiece for all performing groups around Grounds.
This year, for the first time, each of the four Contracted Independent Organizations focused on dance -- Virginia Dance Company, University Dance Club, Rhapsody and Mahogany -- send full-time representatives to weekly Campaign for Dance meetings.
Campaign for Dance President Moira Fogarty is thrilled that student-run dance groups are "more united than in the past".
Fourth-year College student Brooke Bakun, who is involved in the organization, agrees with Fogarty.
"There is a great community of talent, styles and personalities who love to dance," Bakun said. "But what they are lacking is space, materials and professional instruction."
If she had not suffered a lower back injury her senior year of high school, Bakun today would be traveling around the country with a professional ballet company.
As a University Guide, she dreads questions from prospective students regarding a dance program.
"I had to explain where the University stands in developing dance," Bakun said."The follow-up question, 'Where else can I look?' always bothered me."
She stresses the need for dance instruction at the University.
Dance is a form of expression, passion, physical activity," she said, adding that "classes would positively impact both those
who do and those who do not have a formal background in dance and
enhance the current offerings of dance made available by
the CIOs."
A few years ago, University President John T. Casteen III mandated the 2020 Fine and Performing Arts Commission. Casteen wanted to evaluate possible developments within the various arts departments in the new millennium.
Campaign for Dance jumped at the chance to get involved.
Blaska, along with two members of Campaign for Dance, presented a 300-page proposal to the commission made up of professors, community members and students.
A provisional dance curriculum included academic courses in areas such as studio art, history, anthropology and religion.
"We wanted to show on paper how important dance is to the creative intellects of students," Blaska said.
The Commission moved dance to the top 10 areas of concern, meaning that the establishment of an undergraduate dance program by the year 2020 is definite to occur.
With a membership that has more than quadrupled since its first year, Campaign for Dance hopes to bring Blaska's dance courses out of Memorial Gymasium.
Enthusiastic students are looking to Plan 9 on the Corner, where a room of considerable proportions remains empty just beyond the back of the store.
The space, at one time used for local bands, includes a stage and full-sized dance barre, which is exactly what the organization needed.
But ambitions to lease the space for a semester's worth of dance classes must be curtailed, at least until future fundraising efforts can foot the bill.
"A dance program is a great idea, especially with the student demand, and is an integral part of a liberal arts program," said Karen Ryan, associate dean for arts, humanities and social science. "Unfortunately, there are no resources to put towards it."
The situation leaves Blaska forced to continue turning away a "tremendous" group of disappointed women from her two "formal" dance courses.
Blaska also says that the one-credit physical education courses in dance "just aren't the same."
Despite offers to do so, Blaska was not allowed to teach technique classes for free.
Regardless, she remains hopeful about the future of dance at the University.
And the likes of Fogarty and Bakun refuse to give up.
A dance floor that will cover about three-quarters of the Memorial Gymnasium basketball courts currently is on order.
This $4,000 purchase, the organization's first, was made possible through grants from sources such as the Parents Fund, Student Council and the art department and most likely will be stored in Newcomb Hall for all performance groups on Grounds to use.
Additionally, Campaign for Dance sends representatives to New Student Center Committee meetings.
They have suggested price options for mirrors, wooden floors, barres and state-of-the-art sound systems, as well as how to share multi-purpose rehearsal and performance space and storage options.
Blaska also notes plans for a dance performance series at Piedmont Virginia Community College running through 2005 -- the series will kick off with a troupe of traveling Pennsylvania artists who are willing to cover 50 percent of the performance fees.
She hopes the variety of dancers, specializing in African and Russian folkdance, hip-hop and tap, will remain in the area to teach masters dance classes as well.
Blaska says that she is "in awe" of the energy that her students bring into her class. "They're so eager to learn and grow," she said. "It makes what I do even more meaningful."
Bakun shares similar sentiments.
"I feel that Campaign for Dance's dedication and voice along with the passion shown by the many dance groups has challenged the University to re-examine the offering of dance at U.Va.," she said.
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