What dances are taught to kids in school?

[DWise1]

My own elementary-secondary public school education in So Calif, circa 1955 to 1969, included no dancing outside of elementary school May Pole dances (around the tetherball poles), for which I remember absolutely no actual steps. I do not know whether my two sons, 1986 through ????, had to go through anything similar.

Of course, I can only speak for the guys and not for the girls, whose curriculum I wouldn't know anything about. In a later dance class (decades past high school), one rather tall woman shared with me that the girls were taught partner dancing and that, since she was so tall, she always had to be the leader. I think that bothered her.

 

[Steve Pastor]

DWise, you mean you missed out on the great Bop conest of 1954 - 1955? The finals were even on tv ther in LA.

Ok, so since I commented...

Pretty much same time frame as DWise, what I remember most about dance in elementary school was having to put my hands on the hips of the girls in one dance. Touching a girls hips! Yikes! I was much younger then.
I coming up with a blank on what we actually learned, though. Nothing in junior or senior high.

 

[pygmalion]

DWise, you mean you missed out on the great Bop conest of 1954 - 1955? The finals were even on tv ther in LA.

Ok, so since I commented...

Pretty much same time frame as DWise, what I remember most about dance in elementary school was having to put my hands on the hips of the girls in one dance. Touching a girls hips! Yikes! I was much younger then.
I coming up with a blank on what we actually learned, though. Nothing in junior or senior high.

How to survive the embarrassment of touching a girl's hips?

 

[GGinrhinestones]

Well, as of the 1990s...no Presidential Test, and the only dance I encountered in public schools was about a week of square dancing as a freshman in high school. The only "dance" I hear about in schools on a regular basis these days is "dance team" - which is nothing like ballroom, or even partner dancing, and is really more like cheerleading. I did visit a high school recently that had ballet as an elective class.

 

[mjnemeth]

Well, as of the 1990s...no Presidential Test, and the only dance I encountered in public schools was about a week of square dancing as a freshman in high school. The only "dance" I hear about in schools on a regular basis these days is "dance team" - which is nothing like ballroom, or even partner dancing, and is really more like cheerleading. I did visit a high school recently that had ballet as an elective class.

We had "team dance" back in the mid 60s in high school. I wonder if "square dancing"
is taught more for its history in early american culture than any thing else. Well I think
its not bad a dance to teach possible shy young people as it has a limited amount of contact and
that is spread out amoung the group.

 

[Wannabee]

I was the same timeframe as DOI. And I remember square dancing very well (as in I remember having to do it periodically and hold hands with boys, who as you well know, had cooties at the time).

I don't remember any other dances being taught, but I was on the drill team in school so we had a dance/drill team coach and learned some jazz/hip hop type dancing, but not through the regular school curriculum.

Also, I passed my Presidental Physical Fitness Test with flying colors and received my Presidential Physical Fitness award (a cheap medal and a certificate signed by the President, (Ronald Regan at the time)). I was always pretty good at "sports". Too bad dancesport isn't coming as easily to me :?

 

[Steve Pastor]

wonder if "square dancing" is taught more for its history in early american culture than any thing else.

There's some of that, but...

Henry Ford - THE Henry Ford - started a square dance movement as a sort of Americana response to Lindy Hp / Jitterbug dancing that became the most popular dance form in the latter half of the 1930s.
In the late 1940s, and into the 50s square dancing was popular around the country. When the Golden West Ballroom was openeing in Horwalk, CA, right next to Downey, they had a square dance night along with musicians like Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Buck Owens, and Rose Maddox. That was very late 1963 and 1964, so square dance was still popular then.

I think, though, that there is something else involved, and that's that fact that square dance is a group dance; a mixer of sorts.

If you've ever gone to a Native American pow wow, or something on a res or at a national park, the friendship dance is something that is often danced. It's a airly simple dance done in a circle, usually done with the women going one way, and the men going the other way.
There are mixers in country western venues, too (although there are getting to be fewer and fewer, it seems, as CW dance moves away from its roots). Pattern partner dances seem to have taken the place of mixers.

Although there has always been competition in Lindy hop/ jitterbug/ swing and even in the early days of "clogging" in Europe, the idea that dance is "sport" is relatively new.

Seems there is something of a choice there: community or competition.

 

[mjnemeth]

Beside Square dance we did learn the Virginia reel for sure and I vaguely remember a contra.

Yes in High School we had a drill corp but also dance team; flags corp,cheer leaders and matching band.

 

[Steve Pastor]

A few more thoughts... may have started in response to the "Animal" dances of the late ragtime/early jazz period.
This from a web site.

Around 1928, Boards of Education all over the United States endorsed their square dancing program. Almost half the public schools in America began teaching square dancing and other old fashion dancing. Not only was this great exercise, but Ford and Lovett felt square dancing corrected the missing fun and teamwork that one-on-one dance lacked. Ford and Lovett felt that having square dancing in schools would help train children in manners, courtesy, and social training, a quality Henry Ford wanted to see excel in people. http://www.save-squaredancing.com/history.htm

 

[tanya_the_dancer]

My son had a 4 week unit on dancing (mostly square dancing with one class on chacha taught by a volunteer parent) in 5th grade (small private school). Later on that school added more ballroom classes (taught by a local professional) on middle and high school level. As I heard through the grapevine (we left that school 3 years ago), high school students were reluctant to take ballroom instead of more conventional PE offerings.

 

[mjnemeth]

My son had a 4 week unit on dancing (mostly square dancing with one class on chacha taught by a volunteer parent) in 5th grade (small private school). Later on that school added more ballroom classes (taught by a local professional) on middle and high school level. As I heard through the grapevine (we left that school 3 years ago), high school students were reluctant to take ballroom instead of more conventional PE offerings.

Well Im willing to bet there are lesson plans out there for square dance. Especial since Steve history on it shows it has been in school since 1928!
I'll believe high BOYS were reluctant to take Ballroom dancing. LOL

BTW was the 4 week unit an elective or mandatory .

 

[clumsy fellow]

Girls have cooties... at least back then.

 

[Wannabee]

Girls have cooties... at least back then.

I pointed out the same about boys in my previous post...

 

[Spitfire]

If I were to ask this question to say a school administrator I'll bet I'd probably hear something like dancing is just not important enough to student development to devote the time and resources needed. Just to take a guess. Now, if say a school has enough student interest then maybe the best thing to do would be to form a club. There was one high school here that did just that. They would often come to the Friday dance at the studio.

 

[tanya_the_dancer]

Well Im willing to bet there are lesson plans out there for square dance. Especial since Steve history on it shows it has been in school since 1928!
I'll believe high BOYS were reluctant to take Ballroom dancing. LOL

BTW was the 4 week unit an elective or mandatory .

The 4 weeks unit in 5th grade was mandatory. When however the school was adding it on high-school level as one of PE credits, the concern among 9-12 graders was that it will replace some of other PE offerings and they will have to take it to get required number of PE credits to graduate instead of something else that would look better on their resume. We're talking about a small private college prep school, so they were limited in what they could offer.