So if you haven't seen The View, CNN, Good Morning America or any other news outlet in the past week then you have missed the video above & the DRAMA that surrounds it.
Here are my thoughts:
I feel SO sorry for these little girls. They are 8 years old!! They did not choreograph this routine or pick their costumes. And if you don't know anything about dance, let me tell you something: These may be some of the most talented 8 year olds I have EVER seen!! Shame on all the news media outlets that decided to objectify these children to the backlash that was clearly NOT their own decision. These little girls are not trying to be "sexy" or anything like that. They are simply "copycats" of the Single Ladies video. (Which is a copycat of its own!)
With that said; Do I think it is inappropriate for their age? Yes. Do I think that the choreographer and parents are at fault for the backlash their children are now receiving? Yes. Do I think it is a National News Worthy Controversy? ABSOLUTELY NOT. The parents and choreographer should take those talented children and have them do a breathtaking ballet routine or a simple jazz routine that isn't Beyonce. And don't go blaming Beyonce about her dancing! She is in her late 20s and it is THE PARENTS JOB to decide what their child watches NOT THE CELEBRITY!
In all honesty, I do not think that the costumes are bad at all! They look bad when the 8 year old does the Beyonce grind to the floor but the costume itself is freakin cute if you ask me. In fact, I think I had one similar when I was 10. I was dancing to Bette Milder though so no one cared and if I can find a pic or video of it I will post it for your thoughts!
Here is where this controversy hits home for me. My Mother has her own dance studio and she works extremely hard to make her dancers classy! Until you have run a dance studio for 20 years, you have no idea how difficult it is to keep your routines new and fresh without pushing peoples buttons. Trust me, people have some really strange things they get upset about too!
Music these days is extremely hard to edit. I bought an edited version of something the other day and then realized that it said "pissed", "ass" and "bitch" throughout the whole song! Edited my BUTT! I want my $1.29 back!! If anyone really knew the amount of time, energy and money it took to get the music alone suitable they would maybe take a step back before complaining.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I think the routine above is acceptable but I do know that the teacher/studio owner has a hard job. The song itself was suitable and like I said before I think the costumes are cute. It is the movement that is harsh and really that is because the choreographer lacked creativity in making it less like the music video for her dancers.
When it comes down to it, it is the dancers parents job to decide what they believe is right for their child. No one else gets to say what is or isn't okay for their children. You and I can choose not to let our children do this routine or even take dance at this studio but we cannot tell these children that they are doing something wrong. I hope that this controversy doesn't keep these young ladies from dancing because they are CRAZY TALENTED!!
I think the girls are very very talented. I also believe the parents and choreographer are at fault. The costumes to me are a little bit much, I would want MY 7/8 year old wearing something that looked like lingerie. It's sad that we have to worry about pedophiles and horrible people like that, but we do. I think the whole thing is totally inappropriate. I was in dance as well as my cousin and sister. We NEVER had outfits like that. The worst one I can think of was a french maid outfit and we danced to "Be our guest". I do think it was newsworthy because the parents and the choreographer should have been critized. Anyway, that's just my opinion on it.
ReplyDeleteI am desperately searching for a picture of the costume we had that looked like this. Ours were not red & black they looked tropical but they were crop tops and bike shorts with a little skirt and no one (even in Oklahoma circa 1991) had anything negative to say about them. We didn't have thigh high socks on either but it was essentially the same outfit. I really think that if the dancers movement were different people would see the costumes differently as well.
ReplyDeleteI judge dance competition and trust me... these costumes do not compare to some of the raunchy things that walk out onto stage these days.
I just think the costumes could have been a LITTLE bit more age appropriate. Even Beyonce wore more than that in her video. But it's not about the costumes it's the dance and the raunchiness of it. I dont even think those girls understood what they were doing and how suggestive that is. Also on a side note that's totally unrelated. I was always jealous of the LADF group. I took dance over at the goddard center, with Marilyn. I dont have strong ankles so I never got to the toe shoe stage, but always looked up to the strong dancers like yall. So, keep up the good work :D
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much!! Pointe is nice and rough on the feet, I am sure that you have much prettier toes than I do!
ReplyDeleteWhit I'm pretty sure that it goes back to what we've talked about before. Just parents not being parents. I think maybe they are living vicariously through their children therefore they think it's appropriate.
ReplyDeleteOh and on the costume you are talking about, I remember. The song was "Let's Go" and I loved that dance. The costume was black biker shorts with a black top, stomach showing. We had those congo type ruffle things on are arm and jazz shoes.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I'm just jealous that these little girls can do more pirouettes than I can!
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