NE Dance Director Kihyoung Choi was removed from her ballet class April 13 without explanation, and it’s unclear whether she’s been terminated or put on administrative leave, according to students.
Choi was called into an emergency meeting with Human Resources and never returned, dance students said.
“They won’t even tell her co-workers why. They won’t tell her students why. We can contact her, but she can’t contact us,” dance student Rachel Ramsarran said.
Vice Chancellor for Communications and External Affairs Reginald Gates said he can’t comment on the situation due to it being under investigation.
Current and former students spoke at the board meeting April 16 to voice their concerns. There, student leader Joshua Garcia presented a petition demanding answers and asking for Choi to be reinstated.
Created by Dance Club President Ethan Bui and Vice President Anjelina Santibanez within 24 hours before the board meeting, Garcia said students came together to collect over 250 signatures.
“Many students have come to me with questions, but I have no answers to give them,” Garcia said.
On April 20, NE Interim President Kirsten Jakowitsch and Vice President of Student Affairs James Kumm attended every dance class to speak with students.
While many of their questions could not be answered, dancer Christopher Garcia said students made it clear they didn’t want to dance without Choi at their end-of-the-year performances called Gratitude on May 1-2.
“They went and spoke to the legal team and found out that Kihyoung can come as a private citizen,” Christopher Garcia said. “So, that’s a big development for us.”
He said there was no resolution to what will happen to Choi and that some students are still divided between whether they want to perform or not. Genesis Grande said she first thought Jakowitsch and Kumm wouldn’t care, but after seeing them put in that effort for them, her opinion changed.
“Throughout the meetings, my heart did soften,” Grande said. “They’re trying their best, even though they’re also in the dark like us.”
Choi was a mentor to many students, and Grande said she hopes the administrators understand the hurt they’re all going through better after meeting with them.
“In the dance room, it seems like I can’t reach my full potential anymore,” Grande said. “It’s so hard because Kihyoung’s DNA is all over those walls.”
Choi taught seven classes that instructor Jenna Chang and adjunct Najwa Seyedmorteza have had to split up, according to the students. Chang now teaches an emergency overload of 11 courses, while Seyedmorteza is teaching six courses as an adjunct, on top of her courses at TCU, according to Joshua Garcia. Former director Linda Quinn is now overseeing their performance’s production.
Christopher Garcia said while students’ spirits are uplifted knowing Kihyoung can be there to watch them perform, it still doesn’t provide them with comfort.
“It’s like seeing a flower during a tornado. The flower is pretty and it’s good, but everything around us isn’t,” Christopher Garcia said. “The emotional turmoil in the room, it’s so heavy and it’s so different.”
For dancer Jordan Rubio, he said the future for students who want to return next semester is in the air. He said he was on the fence about whether he should perform because he didn’t want to make administrators think the program would be fine without her.
“Despite if everything goes well, everybody chooses to perform and the performance goes well that isn’t an omission that we don’t need Kihyoung,” Rubio said. “If she is not going to be with us for the rest of the semesters to come, then there are quite a few people that won’t return to TCC.”
