A message from the Chair of the Department of Dance, Professor Larry Attaway
I am often asked “What makes the Butler Dance Department so special?” and “Why has the Department been so successful in attracting the best dancers and the best faculty?” Difficult questions, easy answers. Our level of success is only achieved through the personal dedication and professional commitment of every member of the Butler dance “family”, faculty, staff and students alike. Commitment to the rigors of the discipline, commitment to the art-form, commitment to honoring the classical tradition, and commitment to pursuing and embracing dance’s elusive future. As magical as it may seem, I can assure you the secret to our success is not magic, it is sheer hard work!
In dance, artistic excellence can only be fully achieved by working as an ensemble. There must be a partnership and an expectation of trust between and among the students, the faculty, and the staff. It is this complete dedication to the success of every aspect of the program and a professional work ethic that doesn’t function on a 9-5 time clock that has brought the program to its current status as one of the top five in the nation.
The dance world is a vast complexity of aesthetic possibilities and so there is no single path to success in the field. Our goal in the Department of Dance is to provide our students in-depth, conservatory-level training; devoid of mannerisms, making them stylistically free to choose which facet of the art-form that speaks to their personal artistic soul. The success of our program is measured by the accomplishments of our graduates; they are the living embodiment of the professional and artistic education that is the Butler Department of Dance. They are quite literally, everywhere in the field. Each one choosing to follow that singular path that was first begun right here.
The cliché says that it takes a Village; it also takes the continued support of generous patrons like yourselves. Join us in securing the future of an art-form that will never be replaced by “Artificial Intelligence”.
We are who we are because we all believe that each and every day, we must dance the very best dance in the very best way possible. It is your continuing support that makes it possible for us to achieve these lofty goals. So, on behalf of the entire Butler Dance community, I thank you for your generosity.
- Professor Larry Attaway, Chair, Department of Dance
Your generous support of the Dance Department helps with:
Butler Ballet mainstage productions
There are seemingly infinite moving parts that take a production from studio to stage. Your gifts help support costumes, lighting equipment, special effects used on stage, and more for our three annual flagship productions.
Visiting guest artists
In order to reman relevant to the current practices in the field, the Department of Dance seeks to bring in guest artists in the profession to teach master classes, talk with the students about “taking the next step” after graduation, and sometimes for special performances. This connection to the professional world of dance is an essential part of a young dancer’s education and is an invaluable experience for our students.
