Timothy Chapman
The National Association of Schools of Dance has granted the UTRGV Dance Department accreditation for meeting the highest standards in providing performance education and services.
Department of Dance Chair Dana Shackelford expressed what it means to be nationally accredited by NASD, which has now set the standard of what is expected from a high level dance department.
“Curriculum, policies and procedures that are in place to keep students on track to get their degrees,” Shackelford said. “What do we have in place to keep them safe and healthy as they get their degrees. [We have] the quality of performance, the wide variety of performing and choreographic opportunities that are made available to our students.”
Paola Cantu, Dance Department student association undergraduate representative, said being able to graduate from a nationally accredited institution gives students bragging rights for when they perform well, which sets them apart from other performers when finding dance opportunities in the future.
“A lot of us have that performance major, so we can go out to bigger companies and [auditions] and be able to say, ‘Oh, I’m part of this; I’m part of an accredited institution. I meet that standard,’” Cantu said.
Assistant Professor and Director of the Ballet Folklorico Miguel Peña pointed out UTRGV got the accreditation fairly quickly compared to other schools in the nation.
“I think it was within, I don’t know, one, two months,” Peña said. “I’m not sure how fast that was because we did the extra document to clarify some things, but there were schools that they took months and maybe even a year to get the accreditation done.”
Assistant Professor Rebecca Gamborino said she had just attended the National Dance Educators Organization Conference which has members from all 50 states.
At the event, she said people were talking about the UTRGV Dance Department and the degrees they offer without even knowing who she was, specifically showing interest in the Bachelor in Fine Arts in Dance with a concentration in Folklorico.
“Traditionally in academic dance, it’s modern and ballet, and we do offer that extensively,” Gamborino said. “But we also have the Flamenco, the Folklorico, and then we also have Jazz and Pointe and other techniques. It’s really unique in a university setting, and it’s well known in other areas of the United States.”
The UTRGV Dance Department upcoming performance will be a senior project called “Lost in Tradition,” which will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 and 11 on the Edinburg campus in the Performing Arts Complex.
This is Timothy Chapman for Vaquero Radio.
