The Creative Arts Building will take a step forward, in rhythm, beginning with the spring semester. Room 102 has been renovated from a thrust stage for theatre into a full-time rehearsal space, studio and classroom for the School of Theatre & Dance.
The studio will be used for modern and postmodern (barefoot) dance instruction and some jazz as well as a rehearsal space for musical theatre and plays. It will also serve as a flexible performance space for dance showings and, in the spring, the annual Beijing Opera workshop.
The 3,800-square-foot studio’s features include mirrors, retractable seating, a sound system, an upright piano, flat-screen monitor, lighting and dedicated ventilation as well as marley and sprung floors to help prevent injury and strain. Ten course sections are scheduled in the space for the spring semester.
“This dynamic studio and classroom represents the start of an exciting era for Dance at San Francisco State,” says Todd Roehrman, chair of the School of Theatre & Dance. “The University’s commitment to this new space represents the investment of significant resources and, more importantly, an investment and belief in the Dance program, students and faculty.”
The new space, the former Studio Theatre, is one of two dance classrooms in the recently reconfigured School of Theatre & Dance. It replaces the dance studio in Fine Arts 203, which is being converted into the Museum Studies Program’s new Global Museum.
“The new dance studio fulfills a promise for our students,” says Daniel Bernardi, interim dean of the College of Liberal & Creative Arts. “We worked with President Leslie Wong, Provost Sue Rosser and Vice President Ron Cortez to pull the funds together, showing a University-wide commitment to dance as both an art form and a field of study.”
These changes are part of a major space management project involving numerous academic departments and six campus buildings. Once completed, the project will free up about 17,000 square feet of classrooms and offices for other uses by the University.
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