Dirty dancing may face ban

Measures to limit or ban freak dancing at Blair dances will be debated at the Jan 7 Leadership Conference [Editor's note: this meeting was postponed to Jan 13] sponsored by the SGA.

The meeting is open to administrators, class representatives and students concerned with the appropriateness of freak dancing.

In an informal Silver Chips survey of 100 Blazers conducted on Nov 19, 63 percent said they freak dance. But some go beyond dancing, according to junior Amy Ernst. "At my freshman Homecoming dance, I noticed a couple with both their pants pulled down below their crotch area. It would have looked like they were freak dancing among others on the wall, but the guy was thrusting while the girl was bent over, and you could see the bare skin of her hips," said Ernst.

SGA Vice President Emma Simson, a senior, said the SGA found used condoms on the dance floor two years ago as it was cleaning up after Homecoming.

Junior Rachel Moorin, who has seen dirty condoms on the floor after a dance, is appalled. "Freak dancing is okay to some extent but definitely not when guys are ejaculating on the dance floor," she said.

Such incidents have caused a recent uproar among concerned parents and teachers. Because students have different ideas of what constitutes proper behavior, the PTSA is working toward establishing specific ground rules for dances.

Ann Marie Moriarty, a Blair parent, suggested in an email to PTSA members that students who freak dance should receive a mark on their hands as a warning. If their behavior continues, Moriarty proposed, they will be asked to leave.

PTSA member and Blair parent Rich Celotto proposed that with the consensus of the PTSA, the SGA and Blair's administration, a school announcement should be made informing the students of a policy restricting freak dancing. Then a joint letter would be sent to all parents, urging them to remind their children that freak dancing is prohibited.

Assistant Principal Carole Working met with the graduating class of 2002 to determine methods of controlling freak dancing. They were implemented at last year's dances. "If the freak got too hot and heavy, we would put on Polish polka, play 'the heehaws'—get them to do something else," she said.

Freak dancing is "disgusting and demeaning," said Principal Phillip Gainous. Because of freak dancing, he no longer attends Blair dances, including Homecoming. "I'm glad I wasn't there. If I was, I would have discontinued the dance. I would not have sanctioned it," said Gainous.

According to the Silver Chips survey, 66 percent of Blair students would not attend another dance if freak dancing was banned.

PTSA co-President Marilyn Shoenfeld said that attempts to lay ground rules on freak dancing put the SGA and PTSA in a difficult situation. "It's between a rock and a hard place," she said. "The school wants kids to be more involved, not discouraged from coming to school activities," she said.

While more than half of Blair students said they freak dance, 33 percent said that seeing freak dancing has made them feel uncomfortable, according to the survey.

Freshman Lucy Reedy thinks that provocative behavior should not be displayed on the school dance floor. "It's hard to get your dance on when people are having sex all around you."

Although both males and females expressed similar levels of discomfort in the survey, some girls seemed more vehemently opposed to freak dancing because they think the practice is degrading. "Girls who dance like that have no respect for themselves," said junior Teresa Marshall.

According to senior Drew Thomas, freak dancing is a way for teenagers to push the envelope. "People want to test the limits of their sexuality without getting in serious trouble," he said.

Junior Allison Birks, who attended Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in her freshman year, said that inappropriate dancing was strictly prohibited. "At assemblies the staff would mention our policy against freak dancing, and at dances they would go as far as physically separating couples who did it," she said.

Distinguishing between dirty dancing and regular dancing might be difficult, wrote PTSA member Steve Hoffman to other PTSA members. "Dancing between a man and a woman—especially during the hormone-raging teen and young adult years—is going to have a certain degree of sexual content," said Hoffman.