SF State students and faculty are feeling the impact of the university’s budget cuts — some complain of class availability while others say their graduation plans have been stalled.

However, when it comes to the School of Music and Dance, the budget cuts almost left the dance program in a stunned silence, literally.

According to administration and staff, this year’s budget originally planned to leave the dance program without accompanists, or musicians who provide live music for dance classes. But with the support of Jassen Todorov, the new director of the SMD, the department was able to make last minute changes to ensure live music for the necessary classes.

“I didn’t [originally] think I was going to have an accompanist for Ballet III — which is scary for me,” said Wendy Diamond, a ballet teacher who has taught at SF State for 13 years.

This changed on the first day of school when her accompanist was informed that the budget would allow a position for her.

“It was crazy,” said Diamond, her sandy brown hair pinned back neatly into a proper ballerina bun. “You can’t have dance classes without live music. Like Haitian music [requires] the drums.”

SMD was allotted approximately $40,000 in its temporary help account this year to pay for expenses like staffing. From this budget, money is pulled to finance the accompanists.

According to administrative staff in the department, the decision to not use any of this money for accompanists — and therefore essentially cutting them from the program’s curriculum — was enacted by former SMD Director George DeGraffenreid.

“My predecessor wanted to use [this money] for student help and graduate staff,” Todorov said during a phone interview.

Todorov, 33, stated that as the new director of SMD his priorities are different. He said he believes in faculty governance, assessing the needs of the program and applying the funds accordingly.

“We had a full faculty meeting,” Todorov said. “And from that, we decided to support [having] accompanists [in our programs].”

Meanwhile, students and staff have brainstormed different ways to finance their program’s live musicians. One possibility is for dance students to pay an extra fee, similar to a lab fee, for these classes.

Many students surveyed said that they would pay, though they felt their tuition should be sufficient to cover the cost.

“I’d be willing to pay, but I don’t feel like I should have to,” said Callie Campbell, 30, who majors in dance and art education. “Dancing with live musicians is such a different experience than recorded music. It’s more of a true experience.”

Staff members also gave mixed reviews on the possibility of an additional fee.

Modern dance instructor Cathy McCarthy, 49, wrote in an e-mail that she opposed having the fee unless it is absolutely necessary.

“I hate to have students pay more because they already have too many expenses,” said McCarthy, who has taught at SF State for 10 years. “But if [it] were the only way—I think it would be worth it.”

Others in the department, like dance coordinator Susan Whipp, said the fee would be reasonable. Whipp, who has worked at the university for 25 years, said the extra fee would help cover the estimated $13,000 the department spends on hiring accompanists for their classes.

“People have to buy books for classes, so it’s kind of like that,” she said.

Overall, the student, staff and administration said they want to have the most meaningful and well-rounded education for everyone in the department.

Student Ryan Marchand expressed a similar sentiment after a session of Professor Diamond’s Ballet I class ended.

Swinging a half full bottle of Crystal Geyser water, his brown ringlets loosely framing his face — Marchand spoke with passion and frustration about how the budget cuts have affected his experience at SF State.

“We’re not in Iowa. This is San Francisco — this is an art capital of the world,” Marchand said. “Dance goes along with music, you can’t separate the two.”