They start each day with stretching and dance warm-ups to the tune of Lady Gaga as Dr. Lieschen Fink tells them to “shake a little” and leads the group through jazz squares and ballet moves. This year, however, a new set of students will mix up the routine.
“I’ve always had about two or three boys in my class each year, but this semester alone I have 12,” Fink, dance teacher, said. “I think maybe a few of them thought taking dance would be a joke, but some of these boys participated in my class with their American Studies class and wanted to take it for a gym credit.”
Some of the students who were not enrolled in American Studies and did not learn dances last year with Fink had other reasons for taking dance this semester.
“Truthfully, I decided to take this class because I needed the gym credit, and I’m not much of an athlete, so I thought dance class was a good middle ground,” Oscar Pietroburgo, senior,
said. “I figured I would just go back to my house and dance everyday after school, so why not get a credit for it?”
Others, like Justin Hilton, senior, thought taking the class would be a great chance to get involved in some of the other activities associated with dance, such as yoga and pilates, and to increase flexibility and strength.
“Yoga is the best, and I actually took a class over the summer,” Hilton said. “I think dance is a good chance to do something new and fun instead of running around like we do in other PE classes.”
Students who participate in dance find the structure is not the same as what they picture a normal gym class setting to be. Many find this use of exercise fits into their daily life more so than kickball or racquetball.
“I have a good time with street dancing outside of school, and I have memorized choreography from famous movies like Step Up, so I figured that I would get good practice in class and memorize the steps pretty quickly,” Zach Dillard, junior, said.
Fink said having boys in her dance class adds variety to the atmosphere of the room. Most of the boys are athletic, and she tries to make the routines for the classes with a lot of them enrolled with more physical work and masculinity.
“It is great to have the boys because I get to choreograph dances to songs like ‘Heart of Champions’ for seventh hour, and we can also add partner moves like lifts,” Fink said. “I really feel sorry for third hour because they don’t have a single boy in the class, and they miss out on some of the fun.”
Though many of them had different reasons for taking the class or how much they enjoyed it, all of the boys agreed on something: Fink is the definition of energetic.
“I cannot keep up with Dr. Fink. It is a great break from the normal, slow day,” Pietroburgo said. “We watch this woman do the splits and other crazy moves, and she is always so into what she is performing.”
Charlie Bambini, senior, said the class is awesome and he counts down the hours until seventh period dance with his friends. The workouts are fun and a chance to be active while taking part in something completely unlike anything he has ever done before. The experiences gained from dance class have helped with the boys’ personal goals as well.
“I can now touch past my knees when I bend over. I am not the most limber of people, and dance has helped me get in shape and work on flexibility,” Pietroburgo said. “We get to perform at semester with the rest of the hours and I have invited all of my coworkers to come watch me actually be on the stage instead of filming from the seats.”
Fink teaches the boys much more than high kicks and step ball changes; she wants them to know dance is for everybody. She said if they can sign up for the class, they would be able to do the steps as well as most girls.
“The fact that she tries out every year to be a Rams’ cheerleader is very inspiring,” Pietroburgo said. “I figure if she can do that then I can do anything.”
