From ages 8-14, I lived in a tiny farm town that (believe it or not) held dances-for sixth graders ONLY-every Friday night at the local Y. Much to my surprise, my parents let me attend probably twice a month. I don’t remember much about these dances except that the large room was crowded with awkward tweens, and the last dance of the night was always the same song: Stairway to Heaven…! An eight-minute-long slow dance! WOW! For preteens who were sure they’d found love, the song truly was sent from above. I knew it was coming, but there I was, as the ubiquitous guitar solo wafted overhead, wasting precious seconds searching for a partner. I discovered, to my dismay, that some of the girls I liked from school were actively trying to hide from me as I scanned the darkened corners of the room (but that’s a subject for a different day). In their defense, they probably had already spotted the newborn foal that had stumbled into a river of Old Spice headed toward them and were taking cover. (In hindsight, good on them for cultivating a healthy sense of self-preservation so early in life!) Mercifully, there was always one or two girls who answered my frantic bleats with a ‘yes’. Whew! For my sweaty, stinky eleven-year-old self, the best of times was upon me at last. My partner’s arms were unbent and her hands clung tightly to my shoulders as mine searched clumsily for her waist. Her eyes darted about, eager to avoid eye contact at all costs. By the end of the dance, though, we were usually laughing together, because the song turned from a lilting ballad into a driving rock anthem about two-thirds of the way through, causing our legs to flail and our heads to jerk about wildly. After finishing the dance with a well-choreographed flourish, we thanked one another and I floated gleefully outside to meet my dad.
How often, do you think, do our present-day students get the opportunity to spend an evening in non-aggressive physical contact with their peers?
My guess would be the same as yours—NEVER.
Ok, some may hold hands during the couple’s skate at the local rink, but those kids are: (a) likely the exception; and (b) likely not sixth graders.
What if…we re-booted The Sixth Grade Dance? What possible upside could there be?
Well…
Dancing is something that anyone can do.
Dancing doesn’t require a particular high level of skill.
Dancing promotes acceptance of others.
Dancing reinforces the idea that not all physical contact needs to be aggressive.
Dancing is a great example of both bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and interpersonal intelligence.
Dancing may highlight or showcase the gifts of students that might not always show up in traditional measures of intelligence.
Dancing is a great source of exercise.
Dancing is fun.
Looks like a pretty good list to me! Honestly, based on what I saw at dances my daughters attended in high school…the one horse town I grew up in may have been on to something bringing in only sixth graders!
What do you think? Does your school or does any local organization sponsor dances? What social challenges might we be able to meet? Tell our community all about your experiences in the comments below.