This semester, the Athletics Department decided to convert one of its multipurpose rooms in the Joseph M. Linsey Sports Center to a dedicated cycling room. Adjusting this room’s function elicited strong reactions from dance clubs on campus, who are no longer able to practice in the room. 

Linsey has three multipurpose rooms, but MPR’s two walls of mirrors, wood floor and sound system make it popular amongst dance clubs. MPR 3 is known as the “mat room” and is utilized by Brandeis Boxing Club or any student looking to pick a fight with a punching bag. Finally, MPR 4 contains equipment for both Brandeis Rowing and table tennis, but can serve as a dance studio when necessary.

Irina Znamirowski ’24 is one of the outspoken. As the vice president of the ballet club, the dance ensemble coordinator for Adagio Dance Company, and the dance ensemble coordinator for Hooked on Tap, it would be an understatement to say that dance is a big part of her life. She attempted to book rehearsal spaces for the spring 2024 semester before break ended, but received a notification that MPR 1 was “offline.”

In a Jan. 19 email to The Justice, Senior Associate Director of Athletics Tom Rand said that clubs are able to request space in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center or Linsey at any time through the website. “All Athletic programming needs to be confirmed first, so depending on the space requested, there is sometimes a delay before we can respond to club requests that are submitted too far in advance,” he said. Znamirowski confirmed that a couple weeks after she booked a room she typically received either a confirmation or refusal via email. 

After her booking was denied, she emailed Rand on Jan. 9 explaining the situation. “I wanted to inquire about the reason for the closure of this space and if there is any way we could book it at designated times that do not interfere with its other uses,” she wrote. Znamirowski said that Rand did not email her back directly. 

On Jan. 12, Rand reached out to the dance clubs via email. Over winter break, the decision was made to convert MPR 1 to a “dedicated cycling studio.” He acknowledged the space’s popularity amongst dance groups and apologized for “the inconvenience and negative impact it may have on club practices.” 

“The decision was made after examining actual room usage and attendance numbers for all club reservations during the fall semester,” he explained. “Based on that data and our vision for future programming, we feel this change will positively impact our campus, significantly enhancing our fitness and [Health, Wellness, and Life Skills] programs,” as the University is expanding its recreational fitness and HWL offerings. 

The room is no longer suitable for the dance clubs for two main reasons, according to Rand. Firstly, the bikes take up most of the room, which “itself is not large enough to also accommodate dance groups.” Secondly, the University needs “a secure, dedicated space with controlled access for the bikes and equipment.” Prior to this change, bikes were moved into the Gosman Dance Studio during classes and kept in the hallway otherwise. 

On the Gosman website, the cycling room is booked for one hour per day. When a class is not in session, the door is locked. 

Livia Adler-Maranhao ’25, the co-president of tap dancing club Hooked on Tap, learned about the room’s conversion from Znamirowski, who texted that she was unable to book the room for another club. She later sent a picture of the room filled with bikes. In a Jan. 20 interview with The Justice, Adler-Maranhao explained that she emailed Rand for clarification, and by the time she received the mass email sent to the dance groups, she was angry, upset and uncertain of what to do. 

She reached out to Bridget Summit of the Department of Student Engagement to help advocate for the dance clubs and moving the cycles. “But to my understanding right now, their decision is final, and they're not willing to change it,” Adler-Maranhao said. 

In a Jan. 19 email correspondence with The Justice, Summit said that “Student Engagement is happy to work with impacted groups to explore ways to meet their specific needs and come up with additional solutions as needed.”

Rand provided the dancers with alternative rehearsal locations in the Jan. 12 email and did the same in a Jan. 19 email correspondence with The Justice. Locations include the Gosman Dance Studio, Gosman MPR, Linsey MPR 3, Linsey MPR 4, Squash Court #4 and Squash Court #5. Rand added that clubs are also allowed to book the Rosenthal East Dance Studio, Village MPR, Shapiro Campus Center MPR, Levin Ballroom and Sherman Function Hall. 

Znamirowski started to say that there were other places to dance on campus, but cut herself off mid-sentence. No, she said. There are no other adequate places to dance on campus. 

Generally, dance club leaders are unhappy with the list of alternative dance spaces. Safety is a primary concern. Znamirowski explained that typically dance requires either wood or marley flooring, and there are no rooms with marley floors on campus. The Gosman Dance Studio, despite its “lovely wooden floor,” is “incredibly slippery,” making it dangerous to turn in pointe shoes, which are covered in satin. Rubbery floors rip through both the satin and canvas of pointe shoes and because of increased friction, “the shoe could get stuck, while the dancer keeps rotating, increasing risk of ankle and knee injuries.” Furthermore, MPR 3 is the mat room — and therefore, Znamirowski said, not made for dancing —  and does not allow shoes. 

While flooring restricts all dance groups, Hooked on Tap is particularly impacted. “The metal on the shoes can make it really slippery to dance where the floor isn't made specifically for dance, so we usually only book that room when we practice because we can't really tap anywhere else,” Adler-Maranhao said. “Many of the spaces around campus don't allow us to tap on their floors because they're worried that will damage it.” Tap shoes also scuff floors and can rip up carpets. 

Tap also requires dancers to be able to hear the sounds that the tap shoes are making in order to know if their steps are correct, which Adler-Maranhao and Znamirowski both said. Therefore, the rubber floors in Village MPR and Linsey MPR 4 are not conducive to learning. Neither are rooms with echoes, like the studio in Rosenthal East. 

According to Adler-Maranhao, one of the recommendations given to her club was to purchase flooring they could use in different spaces. “However, we’re only given $750 a semester,” she said. “We're also only allowed to spend those funds on the specific things that they approve.” In theory, they could request emergency funding, but she is not sure where they would be able to store the flooring. The group does not always practice at the same time, so if they bought flooring, they would need to keep track of it and coordinate transfers frequently. “If absolutely necessary, we could purchase that flooring, but it would honestly pose … more issues,” she concluded. 

In a Jan. 20 interview, Adagio Co-President Athena Lam ’25 told The Justice that dancers are trained on floors meant to support them, but none of the alternative rehearsal locations fulfill those requirements. She is also concerned about practicing in locations other than Gosman or Linsey, as the clubs need access to ice in case of a fall or injury. 

MPR 1 has two mirrored walls, and Znamirowski, Adler-Maranhao, and Lam all stressed their importance. “It is imperative to make sure that everyone is dancing safely,” Lam said, and in order to do so, dancers need to be able to see themselves practice. Choreographers also need mirrors to teach others in a safe manner. “When you have the mirror, everyone's facing one direction. You're also able to interact with each other better,” Lam explained. In comparison, the Gosman Dance Studio has one mirrored wall. 

MPR 1’s sound system provided a way to play music and still be able to hear it over the sound of tap shoes, Adler-Maranhao explained. She said that it’s difficult to dance in a room like Village MPR, where you cannot hear any music coming out of a laptop once they start dancing. 

In his email to The Justice, Rand wrote, “We plan to make improvements to [MPR 1] by installing a new sound system, lighting, a projector, and video screens to be able to display leaderboards, virtual rides, structured workouts, etc. by incorporating current indoor cycling technology.” He stressed that while such features are typically only found in expensive, off-campus studios, classes in the enhanced space would be free to students, staff and faculty. 

Difficulties in scheduling this semester have increased in comparison to fall 2023, according to the club leaders interviewed by The Justice. Rand suggested Levin Ballroom, which is frequently used as a performance venue, or Sherman Function Hall as alternative rehearsal spaces. According to the Brandeis website, “Due to increased programming and limited space,” groups are allowed “one two-day booking per semester” for Levin Ballroom and a “two-day maximum reservation, per event” for Sherman Function Hall. 

Lam said there was already competition to book MPR 1, which has only increased since its conversion. Znamirowski said booking MPR 1 was not difficult in previous semesters, but now, about 15 groups are vying for “n-1 spaces.”

This semester, some dance clubs are struggling to book rehearsals. Typically, clubs rehearse five to six hours a week, and Znamirowski estimated that personally, she is likely in MPR 1 about 20 hours a week. 

After learning MPR 1 was unavailable, Znamirowski found that other spaces such as the Gosman Dance Studio were booked at her clubs’ rehearsal times. She “scrambled after getting the email to reserve just chunks of time” amongst the different spaces. Adler-Maranhao admitted that Hooked on Tap has only reserved one space thus far, which is “not good at all” for their performance in April. “We're just kind of hoping that we can have rehearsal spaces that can get us to the point of being able to perform,” she said. Similarly, Znamirowski told The Justice that her clubs’ shows are booked for the end of the semester; they will be dancing, but the question is how frustrating it will be to get there. 

Rand told The Justice, “As stated above, there are other spaces clubs are eligible to reserve.” Of the “potential drawbacks,” he responded, “We have one less multipurpose activity room.”

Lam has danced since she was five years old, and Adler-Maranhao since she was four. Znamirowski comes from a pre professional dance background and has been dancing at Brandeis since she enrolled her sophomore year. “For me, it's a big stress relief, because it's the only way that I can express myself because I'm not really a person that can express my feelings through words, or through anything besides performance,” Adler-Maranhao said. 

Lam told The Justice that the right rehearsal space is really conducive towards forming communities. “If we want to create a more empathetic community, the best way to do it is through supporting … students who want to get together and express how they feel all together.” To Lam, it felt like the University was saying they recognized that although their space is being limited, they were not going to include the dance clubs in this conversation, “which is also like a slap in the face.”

“Athletics has no current plans to add new spaces, but we are always exploring creative ways to utilize our existing spaces to meet the needs of our programs and users,” Rand told The Justice. He does not currently know if there are plans to add additional spaces elsewhere on campus. 

— Editor’s note: Justice editors Anna Martin ’26 and Eliza Bier ’26 are members of Adagio Dance Company and Brandeis Ballet Club, and Elizabeth Liu ’26 is a member of Adagio Dance Company. They did not contribute to the reporting, writing, or editing of this article.