FINE ARTS

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A WALTZ THROUGH GUSTAVUS DANCE HISTORY

By Betsy Maloney Leaf ’97, PhD, special to the Gustavus Quarterly It has been seventy years since Dean of Students Melva Lind cautiously lifted the longtime restriction on dancing at Gustavus. The decision to allow dance back on campus, while initially intended for recreation only, proved monumental for the artform at Gustavus. Today, dance at the college currently includes a department, a major, a minor, two dance companies, three studio spaces, six faculty, many student-led dance organizations, multiple mainstage productions, and opportunities to study dance around the world. The list of historic milestones is long. In 1982 the fi rst dance minor was o ered, and in 2001 the major o cially appeared in the catalog. (Since that time, 75 dance majors and minors have graduated from the program.) In 2020, the Rob and Judy Gardner Black Box Theatre opened as a new performance playground with full production support. Last spring, longtime professor Michele Rusinko retired after 34 years of weaving dance into the fabric of Gustavus life. During her tenure, the spring dance concerts have featured the work of more than 60 guest artists, and more than 1,200 original dance costumes have appeared on stage. Thousands of students—majors, minors, and those who simply love it—have performed. Even if you never studied dance

Leaf teaches in the Arts in Education program in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Minnesota. She also works with the interarts (dance, theatre, visual art) license program, and serves on the editorial board of the journal Dance Education in Practice.

1. 1993 Homesick Angels 2. 1997 Hardscrabble, Maloney Leaf ’97, front 3. 2012 Gridlock 4. 2022 I am Sorry You Feel That Way:

Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss 5. 2009 Shiny Things for the Mind 6. 2016 Mama Afrika, Christmas in

Christ Chapel 7. 2004 Seed for Planting

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on campus, you might have experienced one of the program’s many performances through the Nobel Conference, Christmas in Christ Chapel, or the May Day celebration in the Arboretum.

I recently started compiling a program history by collecting stories connected to Gustavus dance. In speaking with alumni, faculty members, production designers, and guest artists about their time on the hill, a clear pattern emerged: dance has been meaningful, significant, and often transformative. Many spoke fondly of developing their artistic voices through classroom experiences uniquely curated by dance faculty, or by experiencing the entire performance arc, from rehearsals to tech week to opening night.

They told stories of finding community, gaining confidence, and committing to a life rich in the arts. Dance alumni have gone on to become teachers, lawyers, doctors, business owners, politicians, veterinarians, writers—and stage performers. They work in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, marketing, social work, education, academia, and human resources. Their time at Gustavus, whether as a student, instructor, guest artist, or designer, was, as one alum described, “magical.”

Though I arrived as a first-year at Gustavus with fifteen years of dance experience, my career plans did not include a life in the arts. But one day on campus I spotted a Theatre & Dance department poster advertising its upcoming musical, Anything Goes, and a call for student choreographers. I marvel at my decision to attend the meeting, given that I had never performed in a musical and could neither sing nor choreograph my own work. I could only tap dance. But by the end of the brief informational meeting, and after meeting new dance friends and Professor Rusinko, I had found my calling. At Gustavus, I was born to dance.

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NEXT

February 11 | Gustavus Choir: Home Concert, 7:00 p.m. in Christ Chapel

February 18 | Gustavus Wind Orchestra: Home Concert, 7:00 p.m. in Christ Chapel

February 13 to April 23 | Improvised Structures: Recent Sculptural Works

by Nicolas Darcourt, Hillstrom Museum of Art

February 23 to 26 | Theatre Musical: Spring Awakening, Anderson Theatre

April 15 | Encore! Celebrating 70 Years of Dance at Gustavus, Schaefer Art Gallery