Getting Your Freak On Just Got Harder

Seattle high schools are laying the smack down on dirty dancing.

A A A Comments (2) By Huan Hsu Wednesday, May 16 2007

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Canceling dances also eliminates a major revenue source for student groups, which can make thousands of dollars in one night by putting on a dance. Each class typically gets to host a dance, and banks the profit to help pay for things like a prom when they become seniors. After the homecoming dance got out of hand this year, Franklin High School canceled the next two tolos, meaning the junior and sophomore classes lost out.

This year, at least three Seattle schools are requiring students to sign a contract, when they buy their tickets or at the door, promising to abide by dance guidelines. That effectively serves as their warning, and if they don't honor their contracts, they get the boot. When Franklin canceled the two tolos, it also instituted contracts for last week's prom. Everyone abided by the terms, says Gen Saechao, a Franklin senior and student body representative. "Nobody got kicked out."

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Students attending Ballard's prom next month will have to sign contracts as well, though the formal clothing tends to discourage freaking. "Maybe I'll let them get a little further than I normally would," says Wynkoop. "I'm not going to jump on someone as soon as they hit 46 degrees. But we also have to be consistent, or else you can't have rules."

The students, of course, don't see what the big deal is, claiming that their dancing merely reflects the times. "I just think of it purely as fun when I'm doing it," says Libbie Martin, a Ballard senior who was dismissed from the homecoming dance. "I get both sides of the story. To think that women have come so far and here they are bent over for the guy, it's crude—I understand that. But this is part of our culture, and the kind of music they play encourages this dancing. If waltzing was in, I'm sure that's what I'd be doing."

Miles says he plans on attending the Ballard prom and won't hold back. He simply hopes that if he decides to get freaky, an adult won't be watching. "It's not like I'm going to [tell my date], 'Please refrain from bending down and straighten your back,'" he laughs.

hhsu@seattleweekly.com

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