S/O Boys and Dance

[maize]

So I'm wondering--why do we (general, cultural we) seem to view dance as unmasculine? My kids dance, and the female to male ratio is overwhelmingly in favor of the females, though less so in Irish than in ballet.

 

I'm wondering if this is a relatively modern development, what I know of the history of dance seems to indicate more gender balance in the past. Jigs, reels and hornpipes were all originally masculine dance forms. Social dance generally required male and female partners. Various cultural traditions include dances for both men and women, either together or separately.

 

Has dance fallen out of favor for boys as organized sports have gained ground? Have views of masculinity shifted away from arts and music and in favor of the football field?

 

What else may be at work here?

[kroe1]

The boy dancers locally lean more toward hip hop, tap, and jazz. Many are teased for their sport at a young age. By the time they are teens, however, their non-dancing male friends want a piece of the action, too. Unfortunately, it is really difficult to start the sport as a teen, as you know.

 

The local performing arts school has about as many boys as girls in the dance program.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I don't know either. My boys are 9 and 6 and act like taking dance lessons would turn them into sparkly princesses. When they are in high school or middle school I am going to make them take dance lessons such as swing dancing and ballroom dancing. DH agrees that it's a good skill to have, not to mention one that is attractive to women. Eventually they will have to attend a wedding or something and it will be more fun for their girlfriends or wives if they like dancing.

 

I wonder if much of the animosity is from being expected to make up their own dance moves. If modern music had defined partner dancing styles that were taught, maybe they'd be more confident and willing to try.

 

I do get the impression that this "fear" of dancing affects white boys much more than black boys. I almost never see white boys or teens over the age of 5 dancing out in public, but sometimes see black boys or teens be-bopping around. Maybe someone would care to comment about if there is a real cultural difference or not.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I think Tigger would love tap dancing. Making noise like that is his kind of thing. The local dance schools all seem to combine tap with ballet, though, and that would be like pulling teeth. Not to mention, tap dancing would interfere with gymnastics.

[AimeeM]

No clue.

We are very traditional - including gender roles. We have never considered dance to be a solely girl activity, though. I was under the impression that long ago there were more male dancers than female, even, but I could be mistaken. 

DS6 doesn't have much choice; he needs an activity and this is what he's cleared to do. I can kind of understand, though, when I think about it - he only sees girls dancing and he was hugely turned off when the last studio insisted he do ballet and tap, instead of just tap. What did he balk at? The tight shorts required to monitor form, lol. At that point, it wasn't that it was for "girls"; it was because he was very annoyed that they wanted him in tight shorts :P

[Guest]

I know the men in my life, as much as I love them, view dancing as somewhat 'sissy'. It's like its ingrained in the, that dance is for girls. I'm hoping to change some minds by enrolling my four year old son in ballet this summer - it seems like a great fit for him on a number of levels and my husband hasn't whined too much on the subject, since the girls are in ballet with the same studio already.

 

There is no doubt that attitude is there, though, and its a shame. I ran into that in figure skating and, to a lesser degree, show choir, too.

[Donna]

I have no idea why.

. 

[maize]

I have no idea why.

.

Thanks for sharing, loved that video!

[Farrar]

Well, when a culture considered the paragon of masculinity to be John Wayne or the like, then yeah, dance is not a masculine thing to do. 

 

There was some overlap in the height of his popularity with Fred Astaire's though.

 

I see that it's seen as "girly" in some quarters, but we're in such a liberal area - lots of little boys we know grew up dressing up in sisters' dresses and doing lots of "girly" things without much social pressure not to. And it's definitely true that ds's ballet school has a lot more boys than most ballet schools, though it's still a lot more girls.

[Donna]

Thanks for sharing, loved that video!

 

Welcome! It was our favorite part of the dance show dd did last summer (and the only one she wasn't playing music for).  :001_cool:

[Guest]

Okay, the Irish dancing ensemble was so fun. I love how they essentially freestyled it together. Great!

[Luckymama]

I have no idea why.

.

I know one of those guys! He went to high school with ds :)

[Jenny in Florida]

We're kind of obsessed with these guys in my house at the moment:

 

 

 

And I would dare anyone to call this guy "girly":

 

 

[Lady Marmalade]

The longer we participate in the dance world, the more boys we see every year, so I think things are improving.  I really think there are more boys out there who want to dance, but don't because of the stigma attached to it.   I know that every time we see the IL's, FIL asks DS if he still is enjoying dancing, or if he'd rather participate in a REAL sport.  Frosts my cookie, because I don't know any student athlete at the high school level who works as hard or intensely as my 11 year old works at dance.  12 hours a week of in-studio dance, plus hours of time at home doing push-ups, sit-ups and stretching.  

 

I do think the overall attitude towards boys dancing is improving.  I am sure that DWTS and SYTYCD help a lot with that, because all the men who end up on those shows really showcase the athleticism and not just the pointed toes and pirouettes.

 

 

 

 

[Jenny in Florida]

I think Tigger would love tap dancing. Making noise like that is his kind of thing. The local dance schools all seem to combine tap with ballet, though, and that would be like pulling teeth. Not to mention, tap dancing would interfere with gymnastics.

 

I don't know how old your son is, but the combo classes generally end at some point. Once a child is elementary-school aged, it should be possible to find tap-only classes, although some more "pre-pro"-leaning studios may require all students to take ballet for technique.

[Donna]

I know one of those guys! He went to high school with ds :)

 

It's a small world.  :)  

[wintermom]

I have no idea why.

. 

 

Love it, though if you compare this to rugby and hurling for "manliness" I'm thinking the sports where you could get killed win. I think that's the key; dancing can be really cool and extremely athletic (e.g., Ukrainian dancing), but there are loads of other activities in most cultures that probably seem more cool to boys.  Traditional dancing seems more highly regarded for males in certain cultures, such Native (American Indian) cultures and Greek.

[myfunnybunch]

I wonder if it has something to do with the (fortunately quite outmoded) idea that sports are unfeminine, leaving ballet/dance just about the only acceptable outlet for athletic girls. So dance becomes a girl activity; sports for boys. Plus, costumes, makeup, etc. are traditionally seen as girly.

I'm sitting here waiting for ds12's boys' ballet class to end. :) He started in a boys-only hip-hop class.

He was afraid to try ballet because he thought he'd have to wear a tutu like his friend Lilly.

He was intimidated by the idea of taking ballet, or even a mixed hip-hop class, because there were so few boys and so many girls.

His current studio offers a free class for boys. It is full. The instructor is fabulous at encouraging the boys to see dance as a human (rather than "girly") activity, to emphasize the athleticism necessary to be a good dancer, and to talk about the importance of male roles in dance. Many of the boys go on to also take additional classes, but starting with boys only helps them see how boys fit in dance.

I deliberately watch the local ballet programs for productions featuring strong male roles.

Things are changing. Ds tells friends he's in ballet, and they say "Cool." It's certainly the most physically demanding activity he's ever done.

[Jenny in Florida]

Love it, though if you compare this to rugby and hurling for "manliness" I'm thinking the sports where you could get killed win. I think that's the key; dancing can be really cool and extremely athletic (e.g., Ukrainian dancing), but there are loads of other activities in most cultures that probably seem more cool to boys.  Traditional dancing seems more highly regarded for males in certain cultures, such Native (American Indian) cultures and Greek.

 

Not to my boy. He knew from the time he was five or six that dancers were the coolest guys. 

 

And I think it's funny that we're suggesting boys don't want to dance because they're too busy playing "manly" sports, when the vast majority of teens we know get more exercise using their Nintendo Wii than they do playing any actual sports outside. My dancing son is hands down in better physical shape than any of his friends. Granted, he hangs out with the nerdy crew, but still. He's slender, but what there is of him is solid muscle. It surprises me every time I hug him and realize he could snap me like a twig if he so desired.

[Jenny in Florida]

I wonder if it has something to do with the (fortunately quite outmoded) idea that sports are unfeminine, leaving ballet/dance just about the only acceptable for athletic girls. So dance becomes a girl activity; sports for boys. Plus, costumes, makeup, etc. are traditionally seen as girly.

 

I'm sitting here waiting for ds12's boys' ballet class to end. :) He started in a boys-only hip-hop class.

 

He was afraid to try ballet because he thought he'd have to wear a tutu like his friend Lilly.

 

He was intimidated by the idea of taking ballet, or even a mixed hip-hop class, because there were so few boys and so many girls.

 

His current studio offers a free class for boys. It is full. The instructor is fabulous at encouraging the boys to see dance as a human (rather than "girly") activity, to emphasize the athleticism necessary to be a good dancer, and to talk about the importance of male roles in dance. Many of the boys go on to also take additional classes, but starting with boys only helps them see how boys fit in dance.

 

I deliberately watch the local ballet programs for productions featuring strong make roles.

 

Things are changing. Ds tells friends he's in ballet, and they say "Cool." It's certainly the most physically demanding

 

My son started in a free boys-only class offered by the pre-pro school affiliated with out local ballet company. The class was taught exclusively by male teachers, and they emphasized fitness and strength training alongside technique. The program was so successful that the school discontinued it after a few years when they no longer needed to beg for guys. In fact, they developed a reputation as a good school for boys, and families actually began moving here in order to place their sons in the school.

 

He took his first tap class as part of the full program there and promptly fell in love. Nowadays, although he regularly takes ballet, jazz, tumbling and hip hop classes, he identifies primarily as a tap dancer.

 

After many, many years of often being the only male in classes, he also considers it part of his mission in life to encourage guys to dance. He (mostly) lovingly refers to dancers as the jocks of the entertainment world, and he finds it frustrating that there are still people who consider dance "girly." 

[wintermom]

Not to my boy. He knew from the time he was five or six that dancers were the coolest guys. 

 

And I think it's funny that we're suggesting boys don't want to dance because they're too busy playing "manly" sports, when the vast majority of teens we know get more exercise using their Nintendo Wii than they do playing any actual sports outside. My dancing son is hands down in better physical shape than any of his friends. Granted, he hangs out with the nerdy crew, but still. He's slender, but what there is of him is solid muscle. It surprises me every time I hug him and realize he could snap me like a twig if he so desired.

 

And how many other guys are in his dance class compared to the thousands in the area playing soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, etc.? I'm not saying dance isn't good for boys, but the vast majority just don't want to take lessons. They're happy to dance around to music for fun, but the discipline of dance is less appealing.

 

It's very tough to compare dance participants to non-participants, by the way. It would be expected that those participating in a physical activity are more fit than those who don't do anything physical. 

 

I think it's wonderful if boys are attracted to dancing. I tried to get my boys interested, and they did do one year of dance. They would just rather do other other activities, like soccer, swimming, running around playing tag games. They'll dance like mad at a wedding, though.

[Tsuga]

Art involves expression of emotion. So I think that's where the whole, "it's not manly" thing comes from.

 

It's bullcrap, of course. First of all, some of the most masculine men I can think of express emotion, and not through art. Art is fundamentally human, as are feelings. 

 

That's why many art classes are filled with girls as well. This division of personality by sex is depressing.

[wintermom]

Art involves expression of emotion. So I think that's where the whole, "it's not manly" thing comes from.

 

 

 

Perhaps, but actors and musicians express emotion and do not have that feminine stigma attached. I really think the costumes for male ballet dancers, and even a lot of the male figure skaters, don't help out the situation. The Irish step dancers have a much more neutral costume.

[gardenmom5]

I think there may be a shift in views of what is masculine.

 

'but I gotta tell ya - male ballet dancers are solid muscle. (and the size of their thighs - pure muscle)  far more than many male athletes out there.  (and I have read of male athletes who made ballet part of their training regimen).

 

I've a friend whose son did ballet and he really liked it.  we fell out of touch, so I don't know how long he pursued it.

most ballets are choreographed to focus more on the female role.  that could be a contributing factor. years ago I saw a production by the Kirov where the male was the lead - and the juxtaposition was what made me realize how unusual it was to have the male be the focus.

 

going Saturday night, one of my favorites . . .  happy dance.

[wintermom]

 

'but I gotta tell ya - male ballet dancers are solid muscle. (and the size of their thighs - pure muscle)  far more than many male athletes out there.  (and I have read of male athletes who made ballet part of their training regimen).

 

 

Yes, of course, but which is more appealing to other men (or even women); football uniform with tight pants or soccer shorts where you can actually see the muscle but don't have to wear leotards. I am not a fan of leotards on men, though I totally love the athletic and expressive movements they do.

[Farrar]

It's cool that other studios also do free boys' classes. Ours does as well - it's an extra class just for the boys. If ds moves up a level next year we outgrow it, sadly, which means we'll be paying more for the same amount of time in studio. Sigh.

[Jenny in Florida]

And how many other guys are in his dance class compared to the thousands in the area playing soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, etc.? I'm not saying dance isn't good for boys, but the vast majority just don't want to take lessons. They're happy to dance around to music for fun, but the discipline of dance is less appealing.

 

It's very tough to compare dance participants to non-participants, by the way. It would be expected that those participating in a physical activity are more fit than those who don't do anything physical. 

 

I think it's wonderful if boys are attracted to dancing. I tried to get my boys interested, and they did do one year of dance. They would just rather do other other activities, like soccer, swimming, running around playing tag games. They'll dance like mad at a wedding, though.

 

Hmmmm, most of the guys he knows quit playing sports by sometime in middle school, if not earlier. My son and his dancer friends are the only ones we know who stuck with any organized physical activity past that point.

 

Of course, given that he has grown up in the performing arts, he's not likely to spend a lot of time hanging out with guys who are sports obsessed. I mean, he's spent time playing basketball at church, "sparring" and playing various forms of tag with choir buddies,  doing archery and riding horses at camp, and he did a summer on a recreational swim team -- He's brought home a few ribbons and prizes from ax and knife throwing at various Renaissance faires and highland festivals -- but none of his friends have pursued any sport in a serious way. 

 

I do suspect that part of the issue with dance is the discipline required. My son and the other kids of both genders who have stuck with dancing for a number of years tend to be the ones who are goal-focused and driven in multiple areas of their lives. 

[Jenny in Florida]

Perhaps, but actors and musicians express emotion and do not have that feminine stigma attached. I really think the costumes for male ballet dancers, and even a lot of the male figure skaters, don't help out the situation. The Irish step dancers have a much more neutral costume.

 

Actually, there are far more females than males in performing arts in general. Community and youth theatre productions are always hurting for boys, and many offer scholarships and reduced tuition to guys just so they can fill the male roles.

 

In my son's year, out of the 20 students his college admitted to the musical theatre program, two were men.

[Jenny in Florida]

I am not a fan of leotards on men . . .

 

I think we've solved the mystery of why your sons weren't interested in pursuing dance. :001_smile:  

[SparklyUnicorn]

Nobody in my family has a problem with male dancers.  Both my boys have taken dance lessons.  One took dance for 4 years.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Kind of along the same lines, I wonder why there aren't tons of boys in choir.  There are all boy choirs in many places, but I'm referring to mixed choirs.  One of mine is in choir and there are other boys, but there are far more girls.

 

Another thing, why are so many chefs males?  I went to a culinary school and was very outnumbered by guys.  Yet the males in my life don't want to operate a toaster.

 

The world makes no sense to me most of the time.  LOL

 

 

[Arcadia]

I have to think about my own culture and Chinese dance does have a lot of male dancers depending on what kind of dance. Lion dance and dragon dance used to be all males.

 

I was taught ballroom dancing growing up and many guys would volunteer for waltz and tango. The guys ex-classmates in public school have fun line dancing with everyone.

 

I am not a fan of leotards on men, though I totally love the athletic and expressive movements they do.

Figure skating couples in Winter Olympics are lovely to look at. Olympic swimmers used to wear bodysuits.

[swimmermom3]

Maize, have you see seen the

?

 

I am always the last one to the party.  In reading through the Josh Duggar thread and then making myself go through and listen to Josh Duggar's various speeches and trying to fact check for my own posts and my own understanding, I came across the Willis family, their TLC show, their music, and their dancing.I think a couple of them have won national championships in dancing. I rather like these kids.

 

[Tsuga]

Perhaps, but actors and musicians express emotion and do not have that feminine stigma attached. I really think the costumes for male ballet dancers, and even a lot of the male figure skaters, don't help out the situation. The Irish step dancers have a much more neutral costume.

 

Really? In my experience boys shun drama and symphony as well. Music has the rock musician persona to benefit it. Drama, not so much. There's a celebrity culture around music and drama that may help, but in my hick high school, choir had one boy (he turned out to be a drag queen, literally, a nationally acclaimed drag queen) and drama had NO BOYS. They had to recruit specially for the school plays.

 

I do not support this as I know many men and women who are quite masculine and feminine, respectively, wonderful people confident in their sexuality and roles in society, who are artists. But I do think there's that stereotype there in many of the arts, among some groups of people.

[Arcadia]

Kind of along the same lines, I wonder why there aren't tons of boys in choir. There are all boy choirs in many places, but I'm referring to mixed choirs.

...

Another thing, why are so many chefs males

The only mixed choir I know are in churches and most I know have an all boys choir. For mixed choir, is the repertoire geared towards Sopranos, Altos and Tenors rather than Bass?

 

 

My uncle is a chef. He is bad at money management so he works for others. However I see female chefs mainly in family owned restaurants and in food courts. I see male chefs at hotels.

[swimmermom3]

We're kind of obsessed with these guys in my house at the moment:

 

 

And I would dare anyone to call this guy "girly":

 

 

I think my mouth was hanging open the entire time I watched the Lombard twins. I loved the juxtaposition of the kind of hard core look and setting with the uber slick dancing and music. Very cool!

 

[gardenmom5]

I think we've solved the mystery of why your sons weren't interested in pursuing dance. :001_smile:  

 

 

'twas dd who brought home "robin hood, men in tights".  it's very funny.

[Arcadia]

A high school senior, who helped me when I first moved into the university's hostel (dormitory) single room in 1991, dance modern dance. The hostel dance troupe is mainly guys. However people thinks this senior of mine is gay. He is a very brotherly person.

 

I didn't realized that people assumed he was gay until I was in his room with doors close and people said nothing could happen because of their assumptions. My guess is that the wrong assumption came about because he is really tall, skinny, very fair and smooth complexion and more graceful than the ballerinas we usually encounter.

 

My kids like Riverdance and my youngest took a tap dancing class a few years back for fun. He was the only guy. I asked him if he wants to sign up for Irish dance but he thinks he can't be as fast as the lead guy in Riverdance

 

In ballet, looking at commonly performed pieces like Swan Lake (1885) or Nutcracker Suite, there aren't many male roles but plenty of female ones. It seems female dominated.

[SparklyUnicorn]

The only mixed choir I know are in churches and most I know have an all boys choir. For mixed choir, is the repertoire geared towards Sopranos, Altos and Tenors rather than Bass?

 

 

My uncle is a chef. He is bad at money management so he works for others. However I see female chefs mainly in family owned restaurants and in food courts. I see male chefs at hotels.

 

Well no because for one thing my son is 9 and sings soprano. 

 

When I did my practice I worked in an assisted living place.  All the cooks were male.  No real clue why. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Really? In my experience boys shun drama and symphony as well. Music has the rock musician persona to benefit it. Drama, not so much. There's a celebrity culture around music and drama that may help, but in my hick high school, choir had one boy (he turned out to be a drag queen, literally, a nationally acclaimed drag queen) and drama had NO BOYS. They had to recruit specially for the school plays.

 

I do not support this as I know many men and women who are quite masculine and feminine, respectively, wonderful people confident in their sexuality and roles in society, who are artists. But I do think there's that stereotype there in many of the arts, among some groups of people.

 

Both of mine are in drama.  There are more girls, but there are actually quite a few boys.

 

Where they danced, there were also a lot of boys.

 

Basically in large part it comes down to the fact that if a boy does not like sports, these are some of the other things to do.  Neither of mine like sports.  They didn't last in dance either because it's as grueling as any sport and maybe more so.  But they both enjoy drama classes.  Nothing girly about them.

 

Broadway shows would be pretty boring with all female casts. 

[wintermom]

There is an interesting article called "Male Dancing Body, Stigma and Normalizing Processes," which describes men's participation in theatrical dance in history in Western Culture. I haven't read the whole article, but it may provide some information based on data compiled from a very large sample, as opposed to anecdotal experiences and observations. http://rsa.revues.org/1048

[wintermom]

I think we've solved the mystery of why your sons weren't interested in pursuing dance. :001_smile:  

 

Is this supposed to be some kind of personal attack on my preference for clothing, and how it effects my children's enjoying playing certain activities? Really? Could it be that boys choose to participate in things THEY like, and it frequently has little to do with what their mom prefers? But go ahead and make a generization based on one comment without even knowing anything about the situation.

[Jenny in Florida]

Is this supposed to be some kind of personal attack on my preference for clothing, and how it effects my children's enjoying playing certain activities? Really? Could it be that boys choose to participate in things THEY like, and it frequently has little to do with what their mom prefers? But go ahead and make a generization based on one comment without even knowing anything about the situation.

 

Just a wry comment, not an attack. I apologize that my tone did not translate.

 

You'd made several comments in various posts about costumes and the way male dancers dress and look and had suggested that "manly" sports equated to an activity one could get killed doing. It was the totality of the attitude to which I was responding, not the single comment.

 

Honestly. though, after more than a decade of listening to folks make giggly remarks about guys in tights, I've decided my best option is to be amused.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Is this supposed to be some kind of personal attack on my preference for clothing, and how it effects my children's enjoying playing certain activities? Really? Could it be that boys choose to participate in things THEY like, and it frequently has little to do with what their mom prefers? But go ahead and make a generization based on one comment without even knowing anything about the situation.

 

I was a bit insulted by what you said.  If it were said under other circumstances, like we weren't specifically talking about how boys are made fun of and looked down on for being in dance then I probably wouldn't have thought much about the comment at all.  It just adds to that general attitude.  Did you really need to say it?

 

My boys never actually wore leotards.  They wore tights and baggier shirts. 

[Arcadia]

Honestly. though, after more than a decade of listening to folks make giggly remarks about guys in tights, I've decided my best option is to be amused.

 

I have lots of guy friends who scuba dive and no one I know would think the competitors for Mavericks (big wave surfing) are not masculine enough despite their skin tight bodysuits.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I have lots of guy friends who scuba dive and no one I know would think the competitors for Mavericks (big wave surfing) are not masculine enough despite their skin tight bodysuits.

 

And there are other sports where they wear form fitting outfits.  Wrestling is another one that comes to mind.  

[wintermom]

Just a wry comment, not an attack. I apologize that my tone did not translate.

 

You'd made several comments in various posts about costumes and the way male dancers dress and look and had suggested that "manly" sports equated to an activity one could get killed doing. It was the totality of the attitude to which I was responding, not the single comment.

 

Honestly. though, after more than a decade of listening to folks make giggly remarks about guys in tights, I've decided my best option is to be amused.

 

Historically speaking, men were the ones doing the battle and getting killed, their "games" involved very physical and dangerous activities. Their "rights of passage" to becoming a man involved doing dangerous activities. It seems to be things they and the men before them choose to do. Women didn't tell them to do and like these things.  

 

In the world of figure skating, when Kurt Browning came to the international stage, dressed in "street clothes" and ditched the more graceful moves, it seemed to electrify the world and excite a generation of new male figure skaters. I think that some dancers are doing similar things in the dance world.

[redsquirrel]

I am so surprised no one has posted this:

 

https://youtu.be/FH8BYfsot4o

 

My ballet dancing boys were certainly impressed with his power moves

[redsquirrel]

I think this is sort of interesting, this discussion about what is 'manly'.

 

Do people really think that there is one standard by which all men are judged in terms of masculinity? There is only one type of man and if one is not that type then one is a failure as a man? Is it the same for women? Is there only one way to be feminine?

 

Who is "manlier": Neil Degrasse Tyson or The Rock?  Bill Gates or Donald Trump? Some football player (I honestly don't know the name of any, lol) or George W Bush, former leader of the free world?  Men come in lots of shapes and sizes and men express themselves in lots of different ways. If our boys don't know that, then we need to teach them because that is not fair to them. It's terribly limiting and they are missing out on a lot of life.

 

When my older boy was younger he was often the only boy at ballet or in a play, but now that he is a 9th grader there are a lot more boys his age in the performing arts. There are actually quite a lot of boys at the ballet school, they showed up starting in 7th and 8th grade wanting to learn to dance. A couple had been watching their sisters and figured out it looked like a lot of fun and hard work. And there are quite a lot of high school aged boys in the community youth theater company.  It takes them longer to decide they want to do it, but a lot of them find their way.

 

Just like with the girls, what often deters them is the dedication needed. Just when the boys started to show up at ballet (7th or 8th grade) a lot of girls dropped out. They weren't willing to make the sacrifices required.  By 9th grade only the most dedicated of both groups are still around.

[3 ladybugs]

I have 2 living boys and there are a few things DH and I want them to have done before they graduate high school and one of them is to learn to ballroom dance.

 

I met hubby ballroom dancing so it is only fitting. I also think it gives them something to get them out of their shell a bit in college. I don't want to think about them doing an Argentine Tango, but I would be proud if they learned.

 

However for now, they can do sports. Ballroom is a bit advanced for even my 6 year old.