Point Park University is revamping its performing arts department, it announced Monday.
The School of Dance and the School of Theatre, Film and Animation will be the two parts of Point Park’s Conservatory of Performing Arts.
“With having these two new focused schools, we’re really positioning Point Park and Downtown Pittsburgh to be this pivotal location,” said university President Chris Brussalis. “Setting an example … for arts education across the nation.”
Previously, the conservatory housed three departments: dance, theatre and cinema arts, but now, the two schools allow there to be more focused departments under each of their umbrellas.
“The School of Dance allows us to be really focused in being able to provide specific interest-aligned degree programs while maintaining our traditional conservatory model,” Brussalis said.
Garfield Lemonius will lead the School of Dance as dean, and Kiesha Lalama, executive producer of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, will lead the School of Theatre, Film and Animation as interim dean.
Gary Kline will join Lalama as interim associate dean. A teaching professor emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University with a long history in musical theater, Kline is nationally known as a voice teacher — having taught Broadway stars and Tony winners.
Though the departments within the two new schools are still being developed, Brussalis said there will be a department of concert performance, featuring the ballet and modern dance style, and a department of commercial performance, featuring the jazz and hip-hop dance styles.
In the School of Dance, there will also be the option to minor in choreography and musical theatre.
There are about 380 dancers in Point Park’s program, which allows for small class sizes, according to Brussalis.
“We want to be known as the dance hub of the United States,” he said.
Brussalis said the hip-hop program is being built up because of the style’s growing nationwide popularity. “We already have some hip-hop going on, but it’s just exploding,” he said. “We’re going to capitalize on it.”
This change is part of Point Park’s strategic plan Pioneer Vision 2030, according to Brussalis, who said it’s focused on innovation and creating more robust opportunities for university students.
“This is all created to meet the needs of the entertainment industry,” he said.
Any potential changes in curriculum will be up to specific faculty members within the two new schools, Brussalis said, but he knows that the dance faculty is working on new offerings.
“We’re going to be leaders in innovation,” he said. “We’re going to be on the cutting edge of what’s the next thing that’s needed in the industry.”