As of Fall 2025, the School of Music and Performing Arts separated into the School of Music and the School of Dance and Theatre. This decision was long-awaited by the former Performing Arts program and was put into motion by College of the Arts Dean, Daryl Joseph Moore. The College of the Arts will no longer have any programs or departments, instead it will be comprised of several different schools.
The school most affected by this change is the School of Dance and Theatre. Spring 2025 will mark the 50th year of the theatre department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the dance department is only a few years older. In the past, the dance and theatre programs were separated, before former Dean H. Gordon Brooks made the decision to merge them into the School of Music and Performing Arts.
This change opens up new opportunities for the school. Professor Carl Granieri, coordinator of the theatre department, stated, “[The change] allows us to think differently about who we are. We restructured all of our curriculum … Our programming has changed, and we’ve done a full overhaul. Dance is offering so many new options…”
He continued, “We introduced professional training initiative abroad as a part of this restructure.” He also said, “it’s much more than just a rebrand. It’s a rethink about the way our acting curriculum is being completely turned inside out… We’re not like a unit inside a school. We are a school dedicated specifically to the study of theatre and dance.”
Similarly, Professor Michael Crotty, coordinator of the dance program and assistant professor explained, “We have a really unique opportunity to revisit what our role is in the performing arts, and how we can reach out to the community based on that… We have a lot of exciting new performance opportunities and a handful that are collaborative. So we’re making a decision as a department to move forward with devised programs that are an integration of dance and theatre, which is really exciting.”
When it comes to benefitting students, Sara Birk, interim director of the new school, said, “They’re going out in the world, and they’re coming out of a school of dance and theatre… There’s no question to a potential employer, to someone who’s looking at them for internships or job opportunities post graduation.”
She also explained that some people didn’t even know the school had a dance and theatre program. Prospective students interested in either would move on from UL Lafayette, not even realizing the opportunities at the University.
Laurel Greenway, a senior acting major specializing in stage management, agreed. She said, “I think Performing Arts is very broad, so I think it’s good to be, like, this is the dance and theatre department … I think it’ll help us be more recognized. And I think it draws more attention as well, easier to remember.”
Fellow dance major, senior A’myra Menard, said, “Usually dancers or, like, artists period, don’t get the recognition that they should. So I feel like this new name change is a step closer to that, and as well, also acknowledges the years of growth and excellence from both dance and theatre side.”
On the practical side, Ray Selle, a junior theatre tech/design major specializing in lighting design, shared, “I think it was a good decision, especially since our director was in Angelle, which is not a building theatre and dance uses, except for State [of LA Danse] … So now when we need to go meet with her, it’s more centralized.”
Overall, students and faculty alike are very excited about each being their own independent department and look forward to making more art as the School of Dance and Theatre.