Why dance teams are important in schools and why some people might dislike it?

By Mariama Diallo

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Did You know Dance plays a big role in our everyday life?

It is very important for schools to have dance teams, especially high schools. It has a very big positive impact on students. Bronx Envision Academy is one of the high schools in New York City that has dance as an elective class. Dance is not something some students choose as a first elective option, but once they try it they usually enjoy the class. Dancing is a great body and Mind exercise. It brings joy,

happiness, and benefits people mental state and social skills. It's all about learning to do different steps with the music through dance, students could learn different skills. Dance makes some people feel good, relaxed, and alive. There’s couple interviews from students and teachers that shows they mind set on dance. The resources in this article also shows how some people feel joy with dance while others don’t. Yasmin Aka, a current student in Forsyth Satellite Academy, said, “Dance is litt especially hip pop, I did African dances and performed a couple of times in different shows.” She performed at her old high school, The Heritage.

Dance can be a way to stay fit and it has mental benefits such as improving conditions of heart and lungs, weight management, better coordination, agility, and flexibility. It’s a fun way to excise the body. Miss Catalano a Dance Teacher at B.E.A stated “It’s another fun way to help students reduce stress, it’s also another way to bring students together with creativity and music.” Katherine Morgenegg a English teacher at Forsyth Satellite Academy added, “I love dance teams, I think they provide a chance for people to explore a different form of sport that we don’t think about a lot. It’s also a great opportunity to do something different and try new things.”

Author Sir Ken Robinson stated, “It is the physical expression through movement and rhythm of relationships, feelings and ideas.” This helps students development new ideas and have a better knowledge of learning. Peter Lovatt, a dance psychology also stated, “People feel sexy, passionate, empowered and alive when they dance. For some people, dancing makes them they feel relaxed, content and whole, and for some other people the act of dancing brings them close to a state of self-actualization, spiritual completeness, and a state of mind-body harmony.” This relates back to why dance might be important to some people in our society.

“At first dance wasn't in my mind but after joining it in school I’ll never quite it...even when I go to college i’m going to find a way to get involved in dance activities.” said Tata Jabbie, A dance student at B.E.A, this shows how some students don't usually start off with dance as a first school activity.

Not everyone enjoys Dance, which is totally fine in fact There are many reasons why some people might dislike Dance, For example some people might dislike it because they don’t have the passion to move their body at the sound of any music or some might be shy, uncomfortable, embarrass, nervous,....Robinson also stated “So many people, and especially men, tell me that they don't dance because they feel self-conscious.” Men usually don’t have enough confident when it comes to dancing. women in her 50's wrote "I don't dance because I am not very good at it and I have this feeling that people are watching and laughing at me.” This is also one of the problems people usually face, They fear to Dance because of what people might think. Another interview from a young teenager boy was that he doesn’t like to dance because he feels stupid doing it, and he thinks it’s for females only.

Although everyone might have a different point of view or a different explanation Dance is still important in our lives especially in schools.