A potential new home could be coming for dance majors.
By Lauren O’Machel
Halsey Hall, dating back to 1915, has been the East Side home of dance majors for years.
However, rumors around programs, such as the dance program, have been in discussion to move to other locations on the University of Iowa’s West Side.
Rod Lehnertz, the interim senior vice president for Finance and Operations, said Halsey Hall itself is not going anywhere, but certain programs may move away to the building in which the UI’s Art Museum used to be housed.
Because of the destructive flood in 2008, he said, officials determined the UI fine-arts collection would not be able to return to the building, which housed the collection since 1969.
“The institution continues to study options for programs that would best fit the size and structure of that facility, and to date, no final institutional direction has been established,” Lehnertz said in an email. “Dance is among the programs that might fit the building’s configuration and location. As the building’s north end currently hosts temporary space for the School of Music, the timing for a new and permanent occupant is not critical.”
The UI presented plans a year ago to form a private-public partnership and house the new museum in a mixed-use space to be built on the vacant lot at Clinton and Burlington Streets.
UI junior Emma Robertson said there is a variety of pros and cons to the dance program possibly switching sides of the river.
“The main auditorium we have for shows is Hancher. If the studio were to move there, we would be closer in that respect, and it would be really nice,” Robertson said. “However, my classes are all close to Halsey now, and if I had to get from the West Side back to the East Side in 10 minutes, it would be difficult commute-wise.”
However, Robertson may not be affected by the move, depending on how fast such a process would take. But for sophomores Alex Holmblad and Chloe Sekhran, a move could cause a disruption in their school schedules.
“Dance classes are in the same time slot during the same weekdays every semester,” Sekhran said. “It’s hard to fit things into your schedule when I have to work around all of these classes. If Halsey were on the West Side and my next class was on the East Side, it would make things a lot harder for me, and I would have to rethink my schedule.”
Holmblad said a new location could be beneficial to dancers’ health.
George de la Peña, the head of the Dance Department, said he thinks there would be a longer walk to classes, but it would prove beneficial for better climate control for the dancers in the studio and classrooms.
“I hope it doesn’t move because it is central to the East Side but I think it would depend on what they decide to put there in its spot,” Holmblad said. “It is an old building without air conditioning, and that is becoming a problem because it’s a major health risk for the dancers.”
