Student groups permitted to use Pauley for practice space
Student groups started using the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion as a rehearsal space last week.
By hong chen
Jan. 23, 2013 12:04 a.m.
Dancers, musicians and other student groups now have the opportunity to see a lot more of the inside of Pauley Pavilion after the venue opened last week as a practice space for student groups.
Many performance groups practice late at night in the underground parking facilities around campus, and UCLA Recreation officials thought Pauley Pavilion would be a “safer (and) nicer” place to have those practices, said Richard Mylin, associate director of facility and event operations at UCLA Recreation.
“Everyone thought (Pauley Pavilion) was just going to be a sports venue,” Mylin said.
“I don’t think anyone (realized) that there would be this much space to use.”
The main space open for use is the concourse on the north side of the facility, which will be partitioned to accommodate up to three different groups at a time.
The pavilion’s southeast corner can host a fourth group if needed, Mylin said.
Since UCLA Athletics uses the building for team practices and games, Mylin said
UCLA Recreation will try to schedule student groups so their practice times do not conflict with games.
UCLA Recreation will also look to open Pauley Pavilion on the weekends for student groups to use when basketball season ends, though they have not decided the extended hours yet, he said.
It will cost $83,000 a year to keep Pauley Pavilion open until 1 a.m. during the week, and the funds for the program will come from the $972 in service fees each UCLA student pays annually, according to Daily Bruin archives.
UCLA Recreation intends to buy $39,000 of additional equipment, such as mirrors and a dance floor, to better accommodate student groups, Mylin said.
“(UCLA Recreation) sees (dance groups) as the first student groups we can reach out to,” he said.
“It’s the quickest and (most logical) way of using this space right now.”
Student groups can also book the Pavilion Club, which normally seats dignitaries and donors of the Wooden Athletic Fund before basketball games, for more official events.
Undergraduate Students Association Council facilities commissioner Stephen Kraman said his office has worked with UCLA Recreation since last year to open Pauley Pavillion for student group use.
“It was always the plan to open Pauley Pavilion to student groups,” Kraman said.
“(We’re trying to) make great use of the new space.”
The Vietnamese Student Union’s modern and traditional dance groups were the first groups to use Pauley Pavilion for their rehearsals.
“I think it was a great experience not only because of the great acoustics but also because of all the space, and (the fact that it was) indoors and warm,” said John Le, VSU cultural coordinator.
Le said that getting the space was relatively easy.
He made a few calls to UCLA Recreation to get a reservation for VSU.
Kyodo Taiko, a traditional Japanese drumming group, is also looking forward to practicing in Pauley Pavilion so the group can get used to performing in such a big venue, said Kacie Hirano, co-director of the club.
“It’s kind of a fight to get a rehearsal space (in the Wooden Center), so to know that Pauley Pavilion is providing the space is really great to hear,” Hirano said.
