'Dirty dancing' sparks a clash
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As a protest to Puyallup High School's ban on "dirty dancing," one student has organized an event tonight at a local theater to allow his classmates to dance however they please.
And if that wasn't enough to upset school administrators, the event coincides with a Valentine's dance at the school - about three blocks away.
What started as one teen's protest has divided this school of 2,000 students and has even drawn interest from representatives of the Jay Leno and David Letterman late-night TV shows.
The uproar is over a dance style that involves partners pressed so closely - with groping and pelvic thrusting - that administrators say it simulates sex acts.
Often called "the Freak" or "the Nasty," the dance may be popular in nightclubs, but Puyallup High administrators say it doesn't belong in school. Last fall they banned students from performing so explicitly on the dance floor.
Puyallup High's student government last week also adopted dance guidelines at school-sponsored events. Among the rules: "no removal of clothing on the dance floor" and "no bending over past a 45-degree angle."
Some students have complained that they've been videotaped at school dances and that adult chaperones have pulled them apart during dances or even thrown them out of the events.
Puyallup High senior Doug Guinn said he was so upset with administrators that he spent $1,800 he earned from his part-time job to organize tonight's dance at the Liberty Theater. But he denies he tried to undermine the school by holding the event the day the junior class holds its fund-raising Valentine's dance.
Liberty owner Tom Neumann said tonight was the only Saturday open for reservations. He expects the dance to draw the maximum 500 people and added he has gotten 73 media requests, including inquiries from a few late-night TV shows.
School officials say the irony is that some of Guinn's classmates will be hurt by the competing dance party.
Puyallup High Principal Wanda Berndtson said the Valentine's dance is the biggest fund-raiser for the junior class, which helps pay for next year's prom and graduation events. The dance is supposed to raise $3,000, but Berndtson said competing dances could hurt that figure.
Tickets are $8 for singles and $15 for couples for the dance at the school. While tickets for Guinn's event are $7, he says he will donate to the junior class $2 from every ticket sold.
Whitney Worthen, a senior, said she is a friend of Guinn's but is pushing her classmates to attend the school function to support the junior class and because she finds the Freak inappropriate.
Mark Willis, a senior, said he "is disappointed that the school is not open to different styles of dances," but he plans to attend both events.
Guinn said one of the benefits of his protest is that it helped lead the student government to create dance guidelines that should help chaperones and students communicate better. Still, the 18-year-old says the school has overreacted to a dance that "is just like salsa or the tango. It's nothing more than dancing."
Guinn said his support for the Freak is more about freedom of expression, and that he is more low-key than outsiders think. He said he's active in the youth group of the Puyallup Church of the Nazarene and works part time as a lot attendant at a Ford dealership.
"I just go to school, go to work and go to church," he said.
Tan Vinh's phone message number is 206-515-5656. His e-mail address is tvinh@seattletimes.com.