Dance Clubs Protest, Assembly Canceled
Following an administrative ban on unsupervised practice in the Davis Dance Studio, dance groups decided to not perform at dance assembly this fall. However, they still planned to speak in assembly and address the impact of these changes on their rehearsal schedules, but the assembly was unexpectedly canceled and replaced with a faculty meeting.
Two weeks before the assembly, senior Kesi Wilson sent an email to instructor in Dance and Theater Allison Duke on behalf of all the dance groups which informed her that they would not participate in the Fall Dance Assembly. Each individual club created a list describing how the changes have limited the quality of being a part of these groups on campus and planned to expand on these issues to highlight the impact of the administration’s seemingly minor decisions. However, the coheads were dismayed to learn that the time they had planned to speak in assembly had been dismissed.
Even though some dance groups were ready to perform, coheads collectively determined that the decision to not dance would ultimately benefit all groups through weeks of discussion. “We chose not to [perform] because we wanted to stand in solidarity with the groups that weren’t ready,” senior Jada Huang said. Instead, the assembly would have served as an outlet for the students affected by the new restrictions to voice their concerns.
With the weight room renovation and the designation of various rooms in the gym as sports practice rooms, dance clubs practices were restricted to the small dance studio during Davis’ open hours. However, clubs such as Lionettes and Shakti found themselves working in a squash court during the second half of fall term because of the reduced hours. The restrictions were set in order to keep unsupervised students safe from accidents during practices as well as dangers outside and around practice spaces.
“We had to scramble for a few weeks to find a space. [That] cost us a lot of time so when the time came to perform, we weren’t as ready as we wanted to be.”
Student Center Assistant Sibila Fisher, one of the paid monitors who has spent some of their time supervising dance practices, said, “You don’t know if there’s going to be a confrontation with somebody from outside or if you’re going to hurt yourselves and things can escalate.” She emphasized the importance of having an adult present in the event of emergency because students do not always have access to their phones and campus security does not respond immediately.
The decision to restrict hours was made without consultation of any of the the dance club coheads, resulting in frustration directed towards the administration. Senior Ore Solanke, a cohead of Imani, Precision and ABS, felt as though “the dance clubs were disregarded and treated as an afterthought even though we perform at many school events.”
The abrupt decision forced some dance groups to cancel meetings that lead up to the fall dance assembly because there was no time to reschedule the rehearsals. Upper Alexis Lee, a cohead of the dance group InMotion, expressed her frustrations. “We had to scramble for a few weeks to find a space,” Lee said. “[That] cost us a lot of time so when the time came to perform, we weren’t as ready as we wanted to be.”
Moreover, the new spaces where the dance groups relocated to were not ideal as there were no mirrors or speakers. “We couldn’t see our reflections in the mirror which makes perfecting our technique harder,” Lee commented. Some groups had to relocate to unofficial practice spaces as well. Huang, a cohead of the dance group Beat of Asia, relayed that her dance group practiced at the Assembly Hall without official permission.
Club heads felt that the Student Activities Department had not provided them with ample time to practice for performances and disregarded the effort that dancers put into each piece. There is yet to be a set schedule for practices, and there is still not enough supervised time for each dance group to practice. Currently, dance clubs practice based on the availability of adult monitors.
Duke admitted that the abrupt change had caused inconveniences for many of the dance clubs, especially for those that had planned to perform solely at the assembly. However, she also noted that the adult monitor system had greatly improved the situation and hopes that the Exeter community will be able to watch the dancers on stage this term. “Now, the administration and student activities have worked hard to provide building monitors in Davis, so dance clubs can rehearse and prepare for winter assembly and winter E/a pep rally.”