The Academic Senate voted unanimously today to revise the Bachelor of Arts and minor requirements for dance students.

The revisions ultimately saved the dance program at SF State, as it was one of the programs the university had on the discontinuance list. The dance program will now combine with the music and theater arts programs to create an interdisciplinary program between the three.

The dance BA will still be discontinued, but the dance program will stay alive with a revision to the music BA. The university will accept incoming fall 2005 dance majors under the condition that they change their major to music. The revision will also lower the number of required units for dance students from 57 to 45.

Dance professor Susan Whipp, got involved “the day (dance was) put on the discontinuance list.” Whipp helped write the dance revision proposal, and said she was excited by the Senate’s decision.

“It’s my passion, I really believe in this major,” Whipp said. “The students and faculty have made so many strides and I couldn’t see that go.” She also said she expects to see the major grow larger than the 80 full-time equivalent dance majors and 18 dance minors the university has this semester.

“There are a lot of people in theater and music that take a lot of dance (classes). This gives them an opportunity to double major,” Whipp said.

“I don’t think I could have live at this university where all the other dance forms are acknowledged and dance wasn’t,” Whipp said.