The dance program at Chapman University, home to many talented and hardworking students, is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance and is ranked as one of the Best College Dance Program by DanceUS.org. 

It is through grit and dedication that students in the program are able to complete its course requirements, as only roughly 30 to 35 students a year are accepted. 

Ava-Grace Vermillion, a junior dance student at Chapman, has felt the reward of the program. 

Yet this has not come easily, as she has had to take 18 credits of classes since beginning her education at Chapman. The BFA dance program at Chapman has a 77-credit requirement. 

“As a dance major, it can be really tough managing a schedule,” Vermillion told The Panther. “This past semester, I took 10 classes in total.”

However, the work does not stop when the classes end. After class, there are rehearsals, 

balancing other classes, social life and all the other parts that come with being a college student. 

“I think in most cases, a lot of people do not understand how time-consuming our classes are,” Vermillion said. “It is a lot, and I think that a lot of people just joke around that just because we are dancing, it’s not hard work.” 

Some students can’t even imagine adding a second major or minor onto their already jam-packed schedules — despite the benefits of paring dance with a second major.

Despite difficulties in schedule management, the Chapman dance program showed its commitment to its students with the recent opening of the Sandi Simon Center for Dance, a new state-of-the-art facility that offers dance students the opportunity to practice, choreograph and perform. 

The dance program also aims to offer students the opportunity to grow their skills with rigorous training that offers quality productions. 

Chloe Libert is a sophomore dance student who has also felt the hardships of class overload with the program. She is currently taking seven classes and took nine classes in the previous two semesters. 

“I wish the dance program got the accreditation it deserves,” Libert told The Panther. “The dance program does not receive praise from the school, students or the community. We are not offered the same access to master (professional dancers) or even working air conditioning.” 

Some other struggles that Libert has dealt with are insecurities about her dance ability and not enough performance opportunities. 

“My insecurities about my dancing ability stems from my peers,” Libert said. “I think that most of the time, it’s healthy competition. However, sometimes, dancers will make comments about each other and base their value of a person on how good of a dancer they are.” 

Dance students showed their work on May 5 in the Spring Dance concert. Vermillion says that the performances are her favorite part of the dance program. Musco Center for the Arts, Memorial Hall and Waltmar Theatre are places on campus where the talented work of dancers and choreographers at Chapman can be showcased. 

However, as a dance minor, junior Kassidy Aslay wishes the minor got more opportunities during these shows to share their talent. 

“I wish that people knew that dance minors work just as hard as dance majors, as most of us dance minors are former competitive dancers,” Aslay said. ”We are on the same level, but we are just going down different career paths.” 

Despite its hindrances, Aslay, Libert and Vermillion all expressed their gratitude for the program and are happy to be part of the dance community at Chapman.