An online query of the term “grinding” yields approximately eighty-nine million random results. One website, urbandictionary.com, provides fifty-one definitions for the slang term that is popularly used to describe a suggestive style dancing, none of which are appropriate enough to publish. Grinding as a dance form is fairly shocking, even to the most liberally-minded adults, which is why the phenomenon of grinding at school dances has become a cause for concern.

In The Press

“Skaneateles isn’t the only high school in Central New York that has taken steps to control students from grinding or dancing in other sexually suggestive styles. Grinding, however, continues to be a popular style of dance that sets some school administrators on edge.” Published: December 18, 2011 By Catie O’Toole, The Post-Standard

“Skaneateles isn’t the only high school in Central New York that has taken steps to control students from grinding or dancing in other sexually suggestive styles. Grinding, however, continues to be a popular style of dance that sets some school administrators on edge.” Published: December 18, 2011 By Catie O’Toole, The Post-Standard

How to combat a grinder? Just telling the offender to walk away won’t work... Saskia Rolland-Bezem, a sophomore at McGill University in Montreal... she and her friends came up with a workable solution after being confronted with too many uncomfortable grinds in her freshman year.

“We dance on something elevated or we dance in a circle with our butts facing inside instead of out,” she said. “That way it’s really hard for guys to dance on us.”

And the guys? Maybe pity is the best option. “You have to understand,” said Sam Dodge, 20, a junior at the University of Michigan, “guys don’t know how to dance.”
Published: August 12, 2011 By Jennifer Conlin, The New York Times

The New Order

School dances have long been an important rite of passage for middle and high-school students. For most, memories of school dances inspire sweet nostalgia, or perhaps they provide uncomfortable reminders of awkward behavior and bad hair. In either case, the recollections and experiences are important. School dances and cotillions provide young people with an opportunity to practice how to behave appropriately at formal events. They also inadvertently provide a model for teenagers to understand what happens when the boundaries of appropriate behavior are broken. Recognizing the consequences of inappropriate social behavior is a valuable lesson for young people as they prepare to enter a life that is bound to include public functions, office holiday parties and special social events. According to some school administrators, these occasions are a part of life for which many of today’s students may not be prepared.

For a generation who increasingly chooses to socialize remotely through texting and social media, school dances provide a rare type of interaction. For many students, the normal conditions of adolescence combined with a mostly unmonitored ability to communicate with each other through technological media and access unfiltered popular culture through YouTube, etc., have both enabled and emboldened them to push boundaries, sexually and otherwise. Perhaps one result is a sort of desensitization to what many parents and teachers consider improper dress and inappropriate public behavior. Celebrity icons and reality TV stars are often poor examples. Many kids think it’s okay to wear suggestive clothing and engage in overtly sexual styles of dancing at school events. The backlash? A new movement by school administrators to cancel school dances due to an epidemic of inappropriate dress and behavior.

In order to enforce appropriate conduct at school dances, some schools have begun requiring students to sign a contract restricting their behavior, but these same schools do not take appropriate steps to help reeducate students about how to dance. The Dance Evolution Program proposes that prior to any school dance, students be offered the chance to attend dance sessions in which they are taught and encouraged to practice new, more appropriate movement vocabularies. The dance sessions are designed to expose students to rhythm and improvisation, current choreography and group dance styles that are relevant to popular interest. Students with a better grasp of dance steps are more likely to make better choices at school events and in the future.

Who Teaches?

The instructors in the Dance Evolution Program are young, professional dancers with current performing credentials, extremely high-caliber training and strong backgrounds in concert and commercial dance. They are imminently qualified to teach middle school and high school students clean, attractive dance choreography that is school-appropriate, but still speaks to the trends of popular culture.

Sharona D’Ornellas is a founding instructor of the Dance Evolution Program. Her most recent credits as a professional performer include lead dancer in the Tony-Award Winning production of In The Heights on Broadway and a coveted role in the original Broadway production of Ghost. Miss D’Ornellas has taught extensively throughout the United States and Canada and brings her broad experience as an instructor to the creative task of teaching high school students about new concepts in dance.

The Pilot

In Fall 2011, the prestigious Avon Old Farms School in Avon, CT became the first school to implement the Dance Evolution Program. After meeting with headmaster, Kenneth LaRocque, and attending school dances, founder Thomas Flagg collaborated with professional dancers to develop the The Hip Hop Project at Avon. The project was tailored for the student body and conceived to rally their interest, but was also designed to covertly help students learn about more acceptable ways to dance at school events.

The project took place over the course of the Fall and Winter 2 Term 2011-2012, during which time students were invited to participate in a series of weekend dance sessions held on campus. The sessions were conducted by a young professional dancer who guided students through the process of learning simple choreographed movements set to popular music. The sessions at Avon were specifically focused around Hip Hop, a decision that was made based on input from students about their interests. Each dance session lasted 2 hours and provided students with a structured, but entertaining atmosphere in which to learn steps and practice choreography. The sessions were highly successful among students and faculty alike.

Student Feedback

Participating students at Avon were asked to provide feedback about the Hip Hop Project in a questionnaire. Their responses indicated a high level of interest, improvement and enthusiasm. Students wrote:

• “More sessions!! We should have more dance workshops! Possibly the best part of my weekends here at Avon! COULDN’T ASK FOR anything better.”
• “Far more than I expected. Really, really enjoy it.”
• “I came a little unsure but I learned a lot and had a great time!”
• “It has been awesome so far. Keep it up.”
• “They are fun. It can get a little crowded sometimes. I can actually kind of dance now.”
• “Loved working on the aerial. Basic things to do during beats. Different moves we can use during any song.”
• “Nothing!! Perfect as is”

About The Founder

Thomas K. Flagg, Founder of the Dance Evolution Project, is a member of the IECA and NACAC, and President of Terpsichore Quest, a company devoted to promoting the education of young people in the arts and exposing students in schools to professional performing arts and artists. Learn more at www.terpdance.com.