Ashley Peterson wants to help the Kansas University School of Fine Arts dance around state budget cuts.

Peterson and a group of fine arts students have organized a dance Saturday aimed at patching cuts made in the school and adding to technology improvements being funded by tuition increases.

“At first we just thought it would be fun to have a formal, since we hadn’t had one since high school,” she said. “But in talking a little further, we came up with the idea of a fund-raiser. With the recent budget crisis, we’ve had a cut in funding.”

The dance — dubbed the Snow Ball — will be from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday in the Kansas Ballroom of the Kansas Union. Tickets are $10 per person or $15 per couple, and Powersound Production will provide the disc jockey service.

Peterson, a senior from Smith Center, is chair of the Fine Arts Committee, a group of KU students who organized to promote joint projects among students in the School of Fine Arts’ three departments — music and dance, design and art.

Students established a wish-list for technological improvements in their departments during discussions last year about how increased tuition money should be used on campus. Those include digital cameras for visual arts and design students, miter saws and tools for the art and design shop and computer hardware and software for the department of music and dance.

Vickie Hamilton-Smith, director of communications for the School of Fine Arts, said officials would combine the proceeds from Saturday’s dance with tuition money to make the purchases.

“I know we won’t be able to buy everything,” Peterson said. “But we can stretch the Snow Ball proceeds further by combining them with the tuition enhancement money.”

Peterson said the committee was hoping to make the Snow Ball an annual event to support the school.