In a class that most people think is for girls, a handful of Northwood boys are ignoring the all-female stereotype and dancing along with the best.
Some people say that these guys are only taking the class because they get to be surrounded by approximately 30 girls for an hour and a half every day.
“If they are smart, they take it for the girls,” dance teacher Leah Smith said. “Truthfully, though that may be a big part of it, the boys do have other reasons.”
“I took the class to work on my flexibility and agility for football,” senior Melvis Alston said.
Many of the boys who dance are involved in sports and say they took dance for this reason. For some of them, it is another way to get a workout.
“[I took dance] to get better footwork for sports, and I wanted to learn how to dance before I graduated,” senior Thaddeus Tallman said.
This class that some people think is “girly” can help the boys who take it athletically. With the guys, the dancers can perform lifts and various partner dances that the girls would not be able to do alone.
Some may think that other high school boys might look at the dancers differently or have a slightly changed opinion of them because the class is stereotypically a girl’s class. Some of these boys’ friends actually think more highly of them.
“They all think I’m a stud, nothing new,” senior Lane Springle said.
With teenage boys, though, a little teasing may be expected.
“We would joke about it a little bit, but I wasn’t offended,” Alston said.
Many people forget about the physical demands of dance class. Dance has not always been something that was considered to be just for women.
“If [people] look back in history, they’ll see that dance started all male. Every dancer was a male, but through time people have considered dance to be something that only girls can do. The males hold their own and kind of outshine the girls in a lot of different places because they’re so athletic and graceful,” Smith said.
Smith and fellow dance teacher Kristen Norwood are very enthusiastic about having boys in their classes.
“I love [having boys in the class], especially because they don’t really necessarily know what they’re getting into when they come in here,” Norwood said. “A lot of them are kind of shy at first and they’re not really sure. This semester we have one guy (Springle) who’s really enthusiastic about it and he’s turned out to be one of the best dancers we’ve had.”
These boys may have encouraged other boys to take an interest in this class in the future. They are ignoring the apparent stereotype and taking a class that they want to take, regardless of others’ opinions.
“I think the stereotype is a bunch of bologna,” Alston said. “Dance is for anyone who is interested in taking it. It shouldn’t matter if you’re a boy or girl, or your size. If it’s something you want to do or try and it’s available to you, you should do it.”
Senior Abigail Waite agrees with Alston that gender shouldn’t matter.
“I think it’s a good idea to have boys in dance class,” Waite said. “Dance isn’t just for girls, it’s for everyone, and it’s not fair to exclude someone based on gender.”
– By Kasey Jenkins