As soon as the sun sets behind De Neve Plaza, the campus is swarming with dancers.
While student dancers can usually be found in Kaufman Hall or Westwood dance studios, Bruin dance and performance groups have turned to the streets to find the perfect rehearsal spot.
With the growing number of student groups each year, it has become more and more difficult to reserve professional studios or spaces for practices and rehearsals.
Diane Yoon, a second-year English student and one of the coordinators of the Salsa Club, said her group began practicing outdoors due to lack of rehearsal space availability.
“Initially, we started practicing by the Bruin Bear because it takes a long time to sign up for a room when you’re a new student group,” Yoon said.
Rooms at the Wooden Center or studios in Kaufman Hall seem like the most obvious choices to practice routines, but due to prioritized activities and a growing student body, the efforts put into reserving a room can become a slight challenge.
One glance at the brochure for the Wooden Center’s class schedule, for example, reveals that Group X exercise classes occupy Wooden recreation rooms for the better part of the day.
Many dance teams, such as NSU Modern, say they are always in desperate need for a good dancing space, but with limited rooms and time slots at the Wooden Center, many dance teams, aspiring actors and musicians have to scrounge the campus for ideal territory.
“(Wooden) only limits like one room or floor for each club, and since there are so many dances and a lot more clubs now who want to use the space, competition increases,” said Keye Dusan, a fourth-year psychobiology student and NSU Modern assistant director.
Because of this, places such as Lot 4, North Campus’ Sculpture Garden and the Sunset Village Parking Lot, though unconventional, can become prime “studios” for students. Not only do they allow more room and empty space accessible any time of the day, some places are more convenient than others.
“It can get pretty cold outdoors when we try to practice at night, so Lot 4 where the vending machines are has a pretty big space and not many people walk through there,” said Cynthia Vera, a third-year mathematics student and Samahang Modern co-coordinator. “And then you have the outlets and the vending machines. It just happens to be a really convenient spot ““ for people who drive, they can just park right there.”
It’s not just dance groups. The UCLA marching band’s percussionists practice outside in a driveway behind Schoenberg Hall on Wednesday nights because music students must reserve practice rooms ahead of time.
“The band frat was having an event, which is why we were outside last week,” said Kelly Flickinger, a fourth-year music student who is returning in the fall as a music graduate student and percussion head instructor. “But it’s mostly out of convenience. The rooms get hot and stuffy. … We’re in an underground basement.”
American Chinese Association Hip Hop practices in the Wooden Center or Bruin Plaza, using Lot 7 by the Intramural Field as a last resort when the two other spaces are unavailable.
“If you come down (to Lot 7), you’re not in the way and you don’t bother people, so we’re kind of in our own realm and we can do our thing,” said Nikki Yin, a second-year psychobiology student in her second year dancing with ACA. “We come here ““ this is our spot ““ but we respect other people’s spots too. We know that our music can be distracting if other people are playing their music at the same time.”
ACA Hip Hop practices in an opposite corner of Lot 7 from bhangra group Chak de Phatte, Inc. on Wednesday nights. Chak de Phatte, Inc. practices in Lot 7 out of convenience and because it provides an abundance of space.
“It’s a good atmosphere down there because it let’s everyone let loose. We don’t feel as if we are confined or have a certain routine to the rehearsal like when we are in traditional dance spaces,” said Khush Singh, a first-year chemistry student and member of Chak de Phatte, Inc.
Despite logistical deficiencies such as lack of mirrors and competition for sound space, most groups were content practicing in unconventional rehearsal spaces. Spontaneous encounters with these performers bring a new dimension to UCLA’s nightlife.
“We realized after a while that being out here and having people passing by, we get a lot more interest when we’re outdoors and everyone can see us,” Yoon said. “It’s a lot more fun (when) there’s other student groups practicing and we get to meet a lot of people passing by.”