Generous Gift to Create New School of Dance
LOS ANGELES — The curtains will soon be lifted on University of Southern California’s (USC) Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, thanks to a generous gift by the name bearer, philanthropist and dance enthusiast, Glorya Kaufman.
The donation is Kaufman’s largest gift to date, but not her first for dance programs throughout the country. Her support of dance includes a $20 million donation to Dance at The Music Center in Los Angeles, $6 million for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, $3.5 million to The Julliard School and $18 million to UCLA to renovate their School of Arts and Architecture, among others.
Kaufman refused to disclose the amount of her gift to USC, saying in a statement that she wanted the attention focused on the new dance school and the benefit it will bring, rather than the number written on the check.
“I want the school to prepare dancers to be extraordinary performers, to take care of themselves physically and also to have the knowledge to advocate for themselves from a business prospective,” said Kaufman in a statement. “USC provides an exceptional education across the board and will make sure this happens.”
After Kaufman’s husband — homebuilder Donald Bruce Kaufman of Kaufman and Broad, a Fortune 500 company — died in 1954, Mrs. Kaufman was left with a fortune and a strong belief in giving back. She began to focus her attention and energy on philanthropic ventures, forming a foundation to support dance, children’s health programs and other health care initiatives.
“You know, life is difficult,” Kaufman said in a statement. “I have always loved dance, ever since I was a child and I decided I wanted to do something that allows other to have the same experience I have had. [During a dance performance] I look around, and I see people smiling, and they’re so into the moment. Everybody in that audience has problems, and for an hour and a half, they disappear.”
By creating the school hopes young students (nearly 6,000 graduate and undergraduate students pursuing degrees in the fine and performing arts) get the education and experience they need, while loving what they are doing.
The new school is the first school to be established through an endowment at USC in nearly 40 years. The construction of the new school will begin in 2014 and USC plans to admit its first class of dance majors in 2015. Not all who hold the dream of becoming a dancer will be accepted though, as all applicants must go through a demanding audition process, as well as have high academic marks.
Students and faculty are excited and eager for the new changes to take place at the university, including Robert Cutietta, current dean of the Thorton School of Music.
“One of the reasons this is so exciting is that we get to build this institution from scratch, and ask: What does it mean to be a dancer in the 21st century?” Cutietta said.
The project is currently in its preliminary stages and the university has not yet put out bids for design and construction work.