For WAC department, new dance building is a step up

After an $18 million renovation and many unexpected delays,
Glorya Kaufman Hall opened its doors to the public this quarter,
offering new classroom space, performance venues and lounges to
students and faculty on campus.

Originally built as a women’s gymnasium in 1932, the
building has completely transformed to include faculty and
administrative offices, media labs, classrooms, studios, student
lounges and three performance theaters with state-of-the-art
equipment.

David Gere, acting chair of the world arts and cultures
department, described the old building as “pretty
depressing,” but said the new hall is just the opposite,
facilitating the engagement of artists and scholars.

Kaufman houses the WAC department and the Department of
Recreation and Cultural Affairs.

“It’s an extremely sophisticated environment,”
said Carolyn Campbell, spokeswoman for the School of Arts and
Architecture., of which WAC is a part.

Campbell said 1,131 people attended its open house on Oct. 22,
which featured performances by faculty and visiting artists to
showcase the building and celebrate WAC’s 10th
anniversary.

“It was an exciting day for everyone in the
department,” Gere said, adding that he could tell “the
building is ready to hum at a really high level.”

But not everyone is as satisfied with the final product.

“It’s very unnecessary in terms of the money
spent,” said Rosa Kim, a fourth-year WAC dance student. Even
now that the building is finally open, not all facilities are
available for student use due to technical issues.

“We can’t perform our senior projects in the main
auditorium,” Kim said.

Unforeseen obstacles led to the postponement of the expected
fall 2004 completion date. The official opening was then postponed
to winter quarter 2005, but only the first floor of Kaufman was
completed.

WAC began holding classes in the hall while construction and
landscaping continued, Campbell said.

Kim concedes that it is nice to have all the WAC students study
in one area. While Kaufman was under construction, WAC classes were
moved to the Kinross building in Westwood. Kim said she prefers not
having to take the bus and run back and forth to the main
campus.

Kim is optimistic about Kaufman Hall’s effect on the WAC
department.

“It will bring more unity (to the department) and bring
more attention to who we are,” she said.

The faculty is also excited about the department’s
future.

“The promise and potential of the department is
tremendous,” Gere said. He said he wants the hall to become
“a second home” where people can see performances, take
classes and come together to impact interdisciplinary efforts
elsewhere.

At the start of construction, the building was very different,
containing changing areas, exercise rooms, basketball courts, a
swimming pool and a grass dance court in the back. Lectures were
not held in the building, as no classrooms were part of the
original construction.

When it was renamed the Dance Building in 1984, the former
basketball court was the only dance studio available to the WAC
department.

With state and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds
acquired after the 1995 Northridge earthquake, university officials
planned to bring the building up to code, but never intended to
conduct a renovation of this magnitude.

But in 1999, Glorya Kaufman, who has made numerous donations to
UCLA over the last 20 years, donated $18 million toward the
renovation of the historic building, the largest donation to the
dance art form in America and the largest gift to UCLA outside of
the health sciences department at the time, according to an Oct. 19
university statement.

Kaufman was very involved in the redesign and attended meetings
with students and faculty in the interest of developing a place
where students would have the opportunity to sit down and have
discussions outside of the classroom, Campbell said.

Because of its significance on campus as one of the first eight
buildings, most of the original exterior and select interior
designs were preserved.

“The entire exterior had historic specifications,”
Campbell said. “All of the alterations were within the
historic guidelines.”

While the former dance hall had a noticeable lack of performance
areas, the new hall boasts three new separate theaters, including
one for outdoor performances. The Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater, the
largest of the three, features state of the art acoustics, lighting
and custom dance floors.

“It’s a technological wonder,” Campbell
said.

Each performance space can be customized for different events,
which is important due to the interdisciplinary nature of
WAC’s programs. The theaters also feature moveable seating to
support any number of diverse courses or performances.

Kim says she is skeptical about the new hall because the dance
studios are smaller than those in the Kinross building.

For now, Kaufman Hall remains solely a space for its
inhabitants. Discussions are underway about possibly opening up the
theater to other programs, but nothing has been booked yet, WAC
officials said.

“Right now, usage for the theater is booked up with
departmental programs,” said Campbell.