What makes it more sensational is the brawl between a 74-year old man and a female dancer during a basketball game... Read on:

``It was vulgar,'' said Ray Silva

Difficult to believe that cheerleaders could possibly be "vulgar". I always think of this dance style as the height of good taste and classical elegance.

Sorry if I'm being a party-pooper here, but is it just me or are jazz dance routines (which roughly corresponds to many dance teams' technique) becoming more sexually explicit? There's a local mixed amateur-pro dance revue show, and an on-going joke with some friends is predicting how little the jazz dancers will wear each year. I wonder if the influence from pop music is leaching into associated academic dance classes.

On the other hand, art dance can insinuate itself into pop music --- has anyone ever seen the choreography for Kylie Minogue's dancers?

--Andre

Two of Kylie's recent and a couple of the videos were choreographed by Rafael Bonachela, Associate Choreographer at Rambert Dance Cmpany, using very good contemporary dancers from the UK.

But isn't that the present day equivalent of review show producers in the 1930s ecruiting Ashton to make short routines for them?

Andrew, you are correct. And the really appalling thing is that this kind of "dancing" is starting in dance/competition schools, and as young as ages 5 and 6. I kid you not. At a school I used to sub in, I watched that age "doing there thing" to "It's Raining Men." Ughhh......

Now highschool P.E. Departments are supporting this style of "movement" well and students are learning "dance" from P.E. teachers, shelling out hundreds of dollars for costumes and rehearasing night and day. Thongs and g-strings are the order of the day. And we wonder about the moral decay of today's youth.

I have yet to hear about one parent challenging this crap in their childs curriculum. But the minute casting goes up for Nutcracker and their little darling isn't Clara, the gossip mill goes in to full force and the Director hears all about it. Sorry, muddled the issue there. I have (ballet) students on dance team and here all about the trial and tribulations of time,cost, the fact that they have three routines to choreograph(isn't that what the instructor should be doing? Oh forgot, there degree is in P.E. not choreograpy.) And have yet to hear about a parent challenging any of it. But boy oh boy, don't give them a solo in the Spring Show and whammo, dad's at the directors door challenging that decision.

It's long over due that someone challenged this. Now when will it happen at the high school level?

Sorry for the rant!

<small>[ 10 April 2005, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: DavidH ]</small>

I wonder whether this would be better in "Issues" rather than "Fun Stuff"?

Isn't there an article around here somewhere about the Texas legislature trying to ban this kind of dancing. Maybe I should do a search...

Here's the story from the local TV station, which includes some footage of the dancing as well as the confrontation:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/041005_nw_sjdancer.html

The video doesn't really show any questionable dancing, but it's only a short excerpt.

--Andre

And the treasurer from a neigboring county speaks out...