DANCE GSA – UCR | Department of Dance

Mission Statement

The Dance GSA is an association of MFA students in Experimental Choreography and PhD students in Critical Dance Studies at University of California, Riverside. The Dance GSA exists as a social, research, and professional community forum that promotes creative collaboration at the graduate level. Our mission is to foster community within the Department of Dance, and to support and advocate for dance graduate students.

Constitution

Dance GSA Officers

Michelle Cole, President

Erika Villeroy da Costa, Vice President

Sur S, Union & Department Representative

Maryam Malmir, Treasurer

Contact us!

Email: ucrdancegsa@gmail.com

Instagram: @ucr_dance_gsa

Previous Events

Dance Graduate Student Association FAQ

What is DaGSA?

The Dance Graduate Student Association is a dance graduate student-led organization that advocates for and works to help fellow students with their needs/support throughout the graduate school experience. Graduate school is a challenging place and we advocate for students and their well-being. This organization hosts events throughout the year including holding professionalization workshops and talks, hosting regular writing groups, assisting with Teaching Assistant issues and best practices, meeting with faculty and communicating departmental concerns from students to faculty and vice-versa. We also host a few series of panel discussions, which include topics relevant to MFA and PhD students.

How do I get involved with DaGSA?

You can both nominate yourself or get nominated for a position on the DaGSA board. Sometimes, outgoing members might ask you to consider running! The board consists of dance grad student elected positions. Elections usually happen in the Spring quarter.

-President: organizes and hosts events catering to needs of the graduate students in the department

-Labor representative: reports to students about issues concerning the labor union and their rights as teacher’s assistants and graduate students.

-GSA rep: attends regular meetings concerning the support which graduate student organizations receive from UCR.

Who funds and aids DaGSA?

Funding for DaGSA is through the dance department and CHASS services. For additional resources, the department chair and graduate advisor meet with the presidents to aid us in securing funds for conferences and other events.

We are also grateful for the help of Lily Szeto for event organization and updating our website.

What kinds of events are organized by DaGSA?

The kinds of events that DaGSA hosts vary depending on the requests and needs of graduate students. We currently host three regular series of events in addition to aiding the organization of Dance Under Construction (see below):

-Ask Us Anything- This series uses each individual session to focus on one part of the dance graduate student process in creating your dissertation or thesis. These include: all things related to forming your committee, how to make your reading lists, how to navigate each step of the dissertation and MFA final project process, as well as careers after graduate school.

-Faculty Hot Seat- This wildly popular series focuses on our brilliant faculty. This started as a way for grads to get to know the faculty and to ask them a little more about who they are and how they got where they are. The session is usually run by a graduate student interviewer with prepared questions. Towards the end, the attendees are always given time to ask any questions they have as well.

-Writing and Accountability Group- This is a weekly writing and accountability meeting hosted by a graduate student. This is usually run in two hour increments and chosen at a time that is optimal for the most grads. Hosted via Zoom, this space provides two hours of focused work time for attendees to work on whatever they see fit for their schedule.

What is Dance Under Construction?

Dance Under Construction or DUC is a dance grad student led, organized and executed conference that focuses on the current and unfurling work of not only UCR dance department graduate students but also scholars across the country. UCR has a long history of hosting and organizing the event and many graduate students agree that we are looking to move it to a permanent fixture within the department.