Due to club budget cuts, Dance Ensemble members are working to raise funds for their annual showcase to be held at the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

Ensemble President Jenna Hodge said last year the club was allocated about $8,000 from Student Government Association members.

However, their budget was cut in half for the 2019-2020 academic year.

“Since the university was cut funding, it led to all club funding being cut,” Hodge said.

“Dance Ensemble members are grateful for the funding we have received, but more funding is needed.

“In order to rent the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center for practice, tech week and the show, it’s a little over $3,000. That alone is a majority of our budget.

“We also are hiring a professional videographer for the show, who costs about $2,800.

“I’ll most likely be contacting the videographer to see if we can get a possible price reduction due to unforeseen financial circumstances in a student-run organization,” Hodge said.

Hodge said Ensemble members are working to make up for fund losses by focusing on fundraising efforts.

“From what we estimated, we should be able to raise enough money through fundraising. Along with our dues and budget money from student government, we will be able to run things as we normally do.

“There’s nothing a little hard work and dedication can’t fix,” Hodge said.

Ensemble Vice President Bridget McMahon said it takes teamwork and collaboration to make the show possible.

“At first, the other officers and I panicked, as we weren’t sure we’d be able to produce the show due to a lack of funds.

“Luckily, our organization members, our leadership abilities and, of course, our wonderful fundraising chair, Theresa Toscano, have put faith back into this year’s show.

“We are confident after plenty of fundraising that our show will be better than ever regardless of budget cuts,” McMahon said.

Toscano said that ensemble members are  participating in a new Bedford Candies holiday fundraiser in addition to the usual Marianna’s pizza and sub sales in order to maximize the showcase budget.

“We decided this new fundraiser would be good for the holidays because it consists of chocolate, popcorn and gummies.

“On the holiday fundraising form there are about 30 items compared to the normal form, which consists of about 15 items.

“Since we need to raise more money, having this holiday form allows for more options and sales.

“We are asking Dance Ensemble members to sell 10 items for each fundraiser so that we make a profit.

“This year, instead of having the fundraisers last only two weeks, each one is about a month long.

“We also decided to offer a free show shirt for the members who are the top sellers of the fundraisers as an incentive to participate.

“I feel that we will be able to make money off these fundraisers, especially since all of the members are determined to raise money for the Dance Ensemble,” Toscano said.

Dance Ensemble Historian Kayce Ertter said that being able to use the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center for the showcase is a top priority for club members.

“We realized that we had to put in extra work to try and fundraise the remaining amount of money that we needed in order for the show to run smoothly.

“Being an officer and a senior, I wanted us to take that extra step so we could have a memorable show, especially since it is my last one.

“With a great group of dedicated dancers, we are on our way to making this show a success,” Ertter said.

Sophomore ensemble dancer sophomore Hannah LaBar said being able to perform at the center is important because it gives dancers a place to display their hard work and talents.

“Everyone works efficiently to create and perform our dances, and we need somewhere to be able to showcase that.

“I think our officers are doing an amazing job at coming up with ways to fundraise for Dance Ensemble to rent the Pasquerilla Center Performing Arts and all of the other fun activities we get to do,” LaBar said.