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Dancers Call for Fifth Slot on Mainstage

New Committee submits report to administrators

Six students calling themselves the "Steering Committee on Dance" submitted a 70-page report to Harvard administrators Monday, asking that a new slot on the Loeb Mainstage be reserved yearly for a dance production.

Undergraduates currently produce four shows a year on the Mainstage. The committee proposes adding a dance show to the lineup, for a total of five student productions a year.

According to the proposal, a new dance slot could be added in the month of May, pushing back the opening of the professionally-produced American Repertory Theatre (ART) summer show one week.

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"In the long term, we desire a two-week performance run on the Mainstage," the proposal said.

The proposal's authors said they hope their plan will gain more attention for an art form they say has been under-recognized in the past.

This is an issue of extreme importance to the school. It speaks directly to creativity and artistry," said Diana R. Movius '03, one of the proposal's authors. "Dance is the only art form in the school that is currently marginalized."

The report also calls for the establishment of an umbrella dance committee, comprised of elected undergraduates. Similar in structure to the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC), the group would read choreographers' applications and choose a show for the dance slot.

Members of the steering committee delivered the report Monday to President Neil L. Rudenstine, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles, Director of the Loeb Drama Center Robert J. Orchard and other University administrators.

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