USC announces new school of dance


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USC will gain a sixth school of the arts with the addition of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, President C. L. Max Nikias announced Friday in an open letter to the USC community.

The school and the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center at USC will be founded with the aid of an endowment Kaufman created with what Nikias called a “generous gift” to the university. Nikias also said the Kaufman School of Dance is the first school established through an endowment in 40 years at USC.

Though Nikias did not name the amount of Kaufman’s donation, he called her gift “one of the largest in the history of American dance.”

The school will offer training in classical ballet, as well as modern, jazz and world dance, and its students will receive a bachelor of fine arts. Thornton School of Music Dean Robert Cutietta will head the school.

Kaufman’s endowment will also fund the schools programs and activities, as well as student scholarships and recruitment.

Kaufman’s reputation will also likely help the school recruit its first students, who will begin classes in the fall of 2015. A renowned arts philanthropist, Kaufman has previously donated money to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and The Juilliard School.

“Her esteemed name will certainly enhance the school’s reputation, while ensuring that the university is able to transform the lives of generations of students, as well as the future of dance in Los Angeles and around the world,” Nikias said in the letter.

Part of Kaufman’s gift will also fund dance outreach programs for high school students in the USC Family of Schools.