The dance center was “horribly overlooked,” she said. “No guarantees were made about whether 10,000 square feet of space would be replaced.”

And for awhile, enough was happening in the dance world to distract others who might be concerned.

In the spring of 2000, renowned choreographer Elizabeth Bergmann signed on as director of the dance programs, infusing dance at Harvard with new vitality.

Hilby, who participated in the Freshman Arts Program the year after Bergmann was hired, said “the details were hardly understood by incoming students.”

“I think it would be safe to say that most of the students who take dance had no idea,” Alaly said.

But a critical few were aware of the changes in store for Rieman, and their concerns coalesced as they came together to work on the dance show “Ex-Rated” in the fall of 2002.

Minster says that the buzz surrounding Ex-Rated served as a “launching pad.” “We had the press,” she says, “and from there we moved into a more concrete plan.”

Choreographing a Response

The group’s first step was to schedule a meeting with former Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth ’71 to raise the issue.

“We wanted to approach the problem in a systematic and professional way and we wanted his advice and support,” Minster says.

Hilby says that she left this initial meeting feeling like there was a lot to learn about the technical intricacies involved in University space planning.

“After the first meeting with Illingworth, we decided we needed a dance summit meeting,” Minster says.

“We e-mailed all the open lists, the dance company directors, [the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Company]—basically everyone at the University who we thought would have an interest,” Hilby says.

But not everybody showed up.

From the many student groups on campus e-mailed, only about 20 students came to the summit.