Salsa spices up school day
It was the kind of math an early-teen male could grow to like: two girls for every boy.
On Wednesday, about an hour after dawn, Shaw Middle School eighth-graders Avory Snyder, Shawn Summa and Shawn Goodman stood among a field of girls, each waiting for her turn on the dance floor.
Club 161 – better known as classroom 161 in the northeast Spokane school – belongs to teacher Rhonda Clark. But two days a week, it’s a dance club. Clark, an alternative program teacher, is teaching students who want to learn to salsa dance.
“Keep your back to the center of the ballroom. Hold your girl,” she shouted at the boys, her words barely audible above the music. “Quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow. Show me some hip. It’s the hips that look good in salsa.”
Wednesday’s class was relatively small, falling the day before the holiday. Students have been coming to learn the saucy-salsa moves they have dubbed “Shawlsa” and even talk about learning to waltz.
Interest is so high that Clark said she will add a third session, after school on Wednesdays. Students are talking about having a cotillion after eighth-grade graduation.
“So many of the dances now are gone because of ‘freak dancing,’ ” Clark said. Some schools across the nation have banned dances altogether because of the popular but raunchy dance that involves rubbing or “grinding” against a partner.
Clark was thrilled when students approached her about learning another way to express themselves on the dance floor. She learned to dance at Simply Dance Studio downtown, and has participated in beginning level ballroom dance competitions.
“This is a way for them to express themselves and have fun,” Clark said. “And it’s great for social skills.”
The teacher said the dancing has helped bridge cultural and socioeconomic gaps at Shaw, where nearly 80 percent of students qualify for free- or reduced-priced lunches.
They are learning an appreciation for a different kind of music, and the traditions of the dances, while learning to respect one another.
“It teaches you how to hold a lady the right way,” said 15-year-old Snyder, one of the few boys who come for every session.
The teens pack Clark’s small classroom, where grabbing a boy or girl is a requirement, not a punishable offense.
Students roaming the halls before school Wednesday crowded in the doorway of Clark’s classroom to get a peek.
“I feel confident in my life more. I feel like being more mature,” said Snyder, who also likes to break-dance. “This is something fun for me to do instead of hanging out with my friends and getting into trouble.”
Snyder said he was the one who approached Clark, after being inspired by a movie called “Take the Lead.” Actor Antonio Banderas plays a dance instructor who goes to an inner-city school to teach, and encourages the students to achieve their dreams.
Clark hopes she can give her students an outlet for success as well.
“This is a gift I can give to them that doesn’t cost anything,” Clark said.