I woke up the other morning to a text from one of my dance parents. It had a link to a blog article and thanking me for making dance "decent". So, I opened the link, Why I Pulled My Daughters Out of Ballet, and started to read. It reminded me of the many conversations about appropriate dress/costumes, dance moves, and general body image I have had with parents and dancers over the years. It was a good article about teaching our children to stand up for themselves and not doing things that make us feel uncomfortable, even if told to by an adult. It was also a reminder for dance educators and parents to not only listen to your children but to not encourage sexualizing them. I felt proud of myself for a minute. I stress over the music to make sure it isn't too old or too young. I analyse the costumes for each student and body type. I do not allow certain dance steps to be done, because they are, in my opinion, only appropriate in a club. The stress and worrying is worth it, because I must be doing something right.
Then I started to read the comments. I know better, but I did it anyway. There were the normal "good for you, you did the right thing" comments. Then there were the "why dance is bad" and "only take your kids to professional companies with professional teachers" comments. These prompted me to write a series on dance, from my view point as a former recreational only dancer, competitive dancer, college dance team dancer, dance teacher, and mom of dancers (both boys and girl).
Sticking with the blog that started it all, appropriate choreography.
Appropriate choreography seems to be tricky. Things have changed quite a bit since I started dancing back in the early 80's. Twerking was not a thing. Flashdance and Dirty Dancing were considered risque in my home. Thriller was the music video to watch, especially if you liked dance. As I got a little older, I watched Fame all the time. I had dreams of dancing on Star Search. It is not like it is today. The influences are more prevalent than in the past, especially with social media. Posts of kids dancing inappropriately at home are shared online. We tune in each week to watch our favorite dance show to see more drama than dancing. We don't stop and think before we share or, sometimes, choreograph. We need to ask: 1. Is it age appropriate? 2. Is it age appropriate for the dancer but maybe not the younger dancers to see? 3. Is it appropriate for the genre of dance being done? 4. Is it appropriate for a male dancer? (This one might get me some comments.)
1. Is it age appropriate? I do not understand why this is so hard. Yet it is. I think because it gets a reaction, positive or negative. Often times older students just laugh and egg it on, sort to speak, so the younger dancers keep doing it. They want the attention. But why do teachers/choreographers still put it in the dances? As a teacher, I will add the hip bounce to a jazz or tap number. It is a good way to get the dancer back on track from going too fast or breathe for a second and think about what comes next. If done correctly, you can even face upstage without it looking like a booty shake from a music video. I just do not allow the booty shaking, twerking, and what I would consider "club dancing" in my routines or even when the kids improvise.
2. Is it age appropriate for the dancer but maybe not the younger dancers to see? As the students grow up what was not ok before is more ok now. They even out grow movements they did when they were younger. This is normal and we want to challenge the dancers with more expressive music and choreography. But, can it be inappropriate for younger dancers to watch? If it is something that the younger dancers are going to mimic and shouldn't? Then the older dancers probably shouldn't do it. Will they look like they are at a club dancing and not recital? Then they probably shouldn't do it.
3. Is it appropriate for the genre of dance being done? I had a parent one time ask me if we were going to be using our hips like that (we did hip isolation) all the time. They do not allow their girls do move their hips when dancing at home. Really? Never? ran through my head. I explained to mom that we will do the isolation each week. This is part of jazz and learning how to isolate parts of our body. I then went on to explain that I do not have to put hips into routine. It would be for warm ups only. I also recommended her to check out a couple of jazz books to help them learn about the style. Each dance style has its own set of rules and what steps are ok. A hip bounce or a shimmy in jazz is normal and acceptable. Ballet, not so much. Make sure you are thinking about the style of dance and not just wanting to use your favorite song. They might not go together.
4. Is it appropriate for a male dancer? Don't forget about your boys. They feel just as uncomfortable as the girls. Sometimes more. I personally feel, boys should dance like boys. The dance community often has a hard time keeping boys interested in dance. If we make them dance just like the girls, they are not all going to want to stay. Don't get me wrong, they need the same technique as the girls. But for a routine, look at their face when you ask them to do something the girls are excited about. The expression of embarrassment may say it all.
These are questions I ask myself with every dance. These are things more teachers and choreographers need to ask themselves. There is no magic trick to fix this. It may take judges and dance competitions scoring dances with truly inappropriate moves lower and telling them it is not appropriate. It may take more parents to stand up and say my child is too young for those movements. Or for teachers to really stop and think about the age of the dancers. Ask yourself, do you want your grandma to see you or them do this step? The change in what we see as acceptable and appropriate for dancers of any age has to start with you. You the parent. You the teacher. You the dancer.
Then I started to read the comments. I know better, but I did it anyway. There were the normal "good for you, you did the right thing" comments. Then there were the "why dance is bad" and "only take your kids to professional companies with professional teachers" comments. These prompted me to write a series on dance, from my view point as a former recreational only dancer, competitive dancer, college dance team dancer, dance teacher, and mom of dancers (both boys and girl).
Sticking with the blog that started it all, appropriate choreography.
Appropriate choreography seems to be tricky. Things have changed quite a bit since I started dancing back in the early 80's. Twerking was not a thing. Flashdance and Dirty Dancing were considered risque in my home. Thriller was the music video to watch, especially if you liked dance. As I got a little older, I watched Fame all the time. I had dreams of dancing on Star Search. It is not like it is today. The influences are more prevalent than in the past, especially with social media. Posts of kids dancing inappropriately at home are shared online. We tune in each week to watch our favorite dance show to see more drama than dancing. We don't stop and think before we share or, sometimes, choreograph. We need to ask: 1. Is it age appropriate? 2. Is it age appropriate for the dancer but maybe not the younger dancers to see? 3. Is it appropriate for the genre of dance being done? 4. Is it appropriate for a male dancer? (This one might get me some comments.)
1. Is it age appropriate? I do not understand why this is so hard. Yet it is. I think because it gets a reaction, positive or negative. Often times older students just laugh and egg it on, sort to speak, so the younger dancers keep doing it. They want the attention. But why do teachers/choreographers still put it in the dances? As a teacher, I will add the hip bounce to a jazz or tap number. It is a good way to get the dancer back on track from going too fast or breathe for a second and think about what comes next. If done correctly, you can even face upstage without it looking like a booty shake from a music video. I just do not allow the booty shaking, twerking, and what I would consider "club dancing" in my routines or even when the kids improvise.
2. Is it age appropriate for the dancer but maybe not the younger dancers to see? As the students grow up what was not ok before is more ok now. They even out grow movements they did when they were younger. This is normal and we want to challenge the dancers with more expressive music and choreography. But, can it be inappropriate for younger dancers to watch? If it is something that the younger dancers are going to mimic and shouldn't? Then the older dancers probably shouldn't do it. Will they look like they are at a club dancing and not recital? Then they probably shouldn't do it.
3. Is it appropriate for the genre of dance being done? I had a parent one time ask me if we were going to be using our hips like that (we did hip isolation) all the time. They do not allow their girls do move their hips when dancing at home. Really? Never? ran through my head. I explained to mom that we will do the isolation each week. This is part of jazz and learning how to isolate parts of our body. I then went on to explain that I do not have to put hips into routine. It would be for warm ups only. I also recommended her to check out a couple of jazz books to help them learn about the style. Each dance style has its own set of rules and what steps are ok. A hip bounce or a shimmy in jazz is normal and acceptable. Ballet, not so much. Make sure you are thinking about the style of dance and not just wanting to use your favorite song. They might not go together.
4. Is it appropriate for a male dancer? Don't forget about your boys. They feel just as uncomfortable as the girls. Sometimes more. I personally feel, boys should dance like boys. The dance community often has a hard time keeping boys interested in dance. If we make them dance just like the girls, they are not all going to want to stay. Don't get me wrong, they need the same technique as the girls. But for a routine, look at their face when you ask them to do something the girls are excited about. The expression of embarrassment may say it all.
These are questions I ask myself with every dance. These are things more teachers and choreographers need to ask themselves. There is no magic trick to fix this. It may take judges and dance competitions scoring dances with truly inappropriate moves lower and telling them it is not appropriate. It may take more parents to stand up and say my child is too young for those movements. Or for teachers to really stop and think about the age of the dancers. Ask yourself, do you want your grandma to see you or them do this step? The change in what we see as acceptable and appropriate for dancers of any age has to start with you. You the parent. You the teacher. You the dancer.
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