Voice of a Non-Dancer: Letter from Adrienne Mennitt

This comes from Adrienne Mennit ('04) and it's a really wonderful point of view!

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Dear Mr. Kossasky,
It has recently come to my attention that St. Andrew’s has decided to cut all non-elective dance classes from its middle school arts programming. I understand that in this poor economy, all schools, including SAES, are feeling the pressure to cut classes and programs, but I urge you to reconsider this particular decision.

While I have not explored much of modern dance outside my middle school class experiences with Debby Kanter, I am extremely grateful for that introduction. I was actually one of the many students that disliked having to take dance classes at the time (I had always preferred visual arts and dreaded getting sweaty in the middle of the day), but appreciate the fundamental skills they imparted on me: self-awareness, better communication, and a control of space, shape and movement.

Middle school students go through a time of immense change, both physically and mentally, and for me, the most valuable and humbling experience to cope with those changes was the mandatory dance class. It teaches students of both genders a greater understanding of one's own body, and fosters teamwork, independent thinking, and leadership skills. For those students that are shy, dance forces them to interact with others in a confident and outgoing manner that other art classes simply cannot teach. For boisterous/outgoing students, dance teaches them to listen to and depend on others in group settings. I’m pretty sure none of the boys in my grade would have voluntarily chosen to take dance, although in the end, they were often the ones that enjoyed it the most. If you leave dance as an after-school elective, you are doing a disfavor to all those individuals that would otherwise never be exposed to dance, or are too timid to try it on their own.

In the spirit of developing well-rounded students and perpetuating St. Andrew’s “four pillars of education,” I find it necessary to retain the middle school dance program. Dance classes are some of the strongest memories from my middle school experience at St. Andrew’s and I hope that future middle school students get the same exposure and appreciation of the art.