Dance
department needs faculty
By
Colleen Casey
Staff Reporter
The
department of ballet and modern dance cannot accept any more students
to match an increase in interest without adding more instructors,
said Ellen Shelton, department chairwoman.
Shelton
said about 90 dancers from 20 states auditioned for admittance into
the ballet and modern dance department in January. This was about
a 14 percent increase, she said.
|
Special
to the Skiff
Dancers practice a routine at January auditions for fall admittance
into the ballet and modern dance department.
|
Shelton
said the larger number of dancers auditioning is a reason why her
department is in need of more faculty to support growing interest.
Shelton
said the Board of Trustees approved 13 additional faculty members
for the university at a recent meeting and he hopes some faculty
will be given to her department.
It
was great to have such wonderfully strong dancers make (the trip)
here, Shelton said. It really tells us that our graduates
are going out and spreading the word about our program.
The
audition also was held to award the departments two Nordan
Fine Arts scholarships,
worth $7,000 a year, Shelton said.
Keitha
Manning, a ballet instructor, said the turnout at the audition was
surprising.
I
was dumbfounded, especially given such quality dancers auditioning,
Manning said.
We
could have easily given out 10 scholarships if we had the money.This
really says how well known our (ballet and modern dance) program
is because we have a lot of people who would love to come here.
If
the interest continues to grow the department will have to turn
more students away, she said.
Were
going to have to be more selective in our acceptance, Shelton
said.
Senior
ballet and modern dance major Clayton Cross said the department
would benefit from more faculty.
A
lot of the teachers are stressed out because the classes are too
large for them to have, Cross said. More teachers and
smaller classes could better focus on the individual (dancer).
Colleen
Casey
c.m.casey@student.tcu.edu
|