By KIMBERLEY FERNANDES

Kimberley Fernandes (at the podium) speaking at a panel on Women in the Performing Arts; panelists included (left to right at table) Leah Walsh (partially visible), Sena Rich, Michelle DiBucci, and Anita Mercier. President Joseph Polisi (seated at right) also spoke. (Photo by Jane Rubinsky )

“Why talk about women in the performing arts instead of people in the performing arts?” This question, which launched a panel discussion on March 20 in Room 313 in observance of Women’s History Month, was posed by Liberal Arts faculty member and panelist Anita Mercier. After an inspiring introduction by President Joseph W. Polisi, two faculty and two student panelists shared their experiences as women in the performing arts, creating a forum in which other students, faculty, and staff could begin to engage in meaningful dialogue.

One reason for the discussion, said Mercier, might be to celebrate the achievements of women in the performing arts, but she went on to suggest that “a different agenda draws us here—broadly speaking, a political agenda that goes to questions of access, opportunity and power. What are some of the issues faced specifically by women as distinct from men as they strive for achievement in the performing arts?”

Second-year drama students Leah Walsh and Sena Rich—who were instrumental in the planning, organization, and implementation of Juilliard’s first performance of The Vagina Monologues last February—performed an excerpt of the work and shared their difficult but rewarding journey of bringing the Monologues to Juilliard and celebrating V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. They said they were inspired by the way women from all three divisions came together and committed to the project, investing so much of themselves in the universality yet diversity of the female experience. (All proceeds of that event, which was sponsored by ArtReach, went to the Park Slope Safe Homes Project, which provides a variety of services for battered women.)

Faculty member and composer Michelle DiBucci said she feels no gender disparity as a performer or composer, but acknowledged that it was difficult to seize opportunities when you are not cognizant that they exist. Despite her “fairly progressive” early education, it had never occurred to her as a teen that women could be composers until she came across a song by Mary Rodgers, and later spotted an arresting photo of Pia Gilbert in the U.C.L.A. catalog. That DiBucci eventually wound up teaching at Juilliard, where Rodgers served on the board and Gilbert was on the faculty, was something she considered a personal triumph. DiBucci’s experience resonated for many of the audience members and begged the question, why does this discovery need to be made over and over again? Are we in fact reinventing the wheel?

When the discussion was opened up to the audience, third-year dancer Lucie Baker was quick to mark a distinction between music, and dance and drama: when composers submit scores or musicians audition for jobs from behind a screen, one doesn’t know whether the candidates are female or male. But when watching a play or dance recital, it is readily apparent which performers are female or male, and the conversation thus includes a different set of realities. The implications for female dancers who want to have children while pursuing a dance career were also discussed, with one student remarking that her own mother—while a role model as a successful career woman—“wasn’t a dancer … so how do I know how I should do it, or even if I can?”

Fourth-year dancer Caroline Fermin shared her frustrations about the pressures on female dancers to fit a particular form. Despite rigorous schedules and healthy eating habits, women in the professional dance world still face directors and choreographers who tell them to “lose any curves” their bodies may naturally have, to be more “aesthetically pleasing.”

Humanities faculty member Greta Berman recalled how, back when she attended graduate school in art history at Columbia in the early ’70s, women filled the classrooms—but the professors were nearly all male. She wondered what that said for those in positions of power, who were dictating the direction one’s art takes.

Third-year dancer Nigel Campbell, one of several men in the audience, remarked that, despite gains in gender equity both in the larger society and in the performing arts world, issues of access and lack of information still persist. “As a minority artist,” he explained, “I can honestly say I have not experienced any racist treatment from my teachers—but there are still only two black dancers in the freshman class.” Once women or minority students “make it” into Juilliard, the means for success is available—but the lack of access for training and information early on for marginalized populations still needs to be improved, he said, adding that there should be more ways to reach such youngsters and encourage them by example.

The conclusion was that if we want our conversations to have any sustainable impact, we must look to the future and how we can channel these thoughts into actions. This point was articulated in Anita Mercier’s final question: “Thinking about Juilliard’s mission to train young performing artists and send them out to make careers for themselves—are we doing enough here to prepare young women for the challenges they will face as women ‘out there’?” This question may have no definitive answer, because there is always more to be done—but the afternoon’s discussion was certainly a good beginning.

Kimberley Fernandes is the graduate assistant in the Office of Student Affairs.