All DefMo wants to do is dance.
Members of the undergraduate dance troupe Defining Movement said they anticipate having a harder time finding rehearsal space in the future due to the Department of Campus Recreation’s plans to expand group fitness and physical education classes. Additionally, the dramatic growth in the number of dance troupes on campus has strained the ability of the Ark Dance Studio and Wilson and Brodie gyms to keep up with demand for practice rooms.
DefMo member Monica Hogan, a junior, started a petition to “create a heightened sense of the strong presence dance has on campus.” The petition suggested that the groups would be “phased out” in the coming years unless action is taken. It is unlikely that dance troupes will completely lose access to practice rooms, but students are still concerned about the possibility.
Felicia Tittle, managing director of Campus Recreation, said she sides with the students on the issue and recognizes that ultimately, there is not enough space to go around. She added that students should consider holding rehearsals during off-peak times such as Fridays and Saturdays.
“We advocate for additional space—we’re not trying to take away anything,” Tittle said of the department’s limited resources.
In addition to the growth of student dance groups, the athletics department has expressed interest in programming in Brodie and Wilson for both physical education and group fitness. The dance department also has priority over all student groups in the Ark, which makes planning rehearsals there difficult.
Access to facilities is important to the groups, but Hogan said the troupes understand that the spaces they use are intended for physical education courses and group fitness classes.
“The petition is to shed more light on the situation,” she said. “We don’t want to create hard feelings with Campus Recreation.”
Lee Tucker, director of recreation facilities, said the perception that the groups will be “phased out” is inaccurate.
“We have never ever said we’re phasing out anything,” Tucker said. “[There’re] so many dance groups at the University, we can’t keep up. We only have so many spaces to offer, it’s that simple.”
Although it appears that there is no short-term solution, DefMo and other dance troupes will continue to meet with Campus Recreation in hopes of reaching an agreement that balances the needs of groups to rehearse with the wishes of the University to expand programming. In the meantime, though, students like sophomore Spencer Paez, a member of DefMo, fear for the future of dance at Duke.
“I don’t know if everyone who is orchestrating this is fully aware of how this could affect the arts at Duke,” Paez said. “If these groups don’t have a place to practice and do what they do, that exposure for everyone goes down considerably.”
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