Am I getting old or is this horribly wrong?

[nuttylawprofessor]

Were they even in the same division??

From what I could see in the competition site, there were only two divisions: adult and junior.

 

[FireDancer]

This is a website dedicated to Disney vacations. Vacations are pretty trivial, yet there are thousands of people who rack up thousands of posts on here, because it's something that many of us find important enough to post about. On the first page of this board there are threads about postcards, arson, birthday parties, injuries, TV shows, trips, Michael Jackson, and general chit-chat, among many other things. None of those are as important as kids who are starving or being abused, but we all post about them. I can't imagine that all of the posts you've racked up are about earth shatteringly important topics, are they? And you even found this thread important enough to respond to, after all.

If you don't find it important enough to post about then you are free to not post about it and to stick to only the "important" topics. Clearly, with this many replies, many posters do think that this is a topic that's worth at least a couple of minutes of their time.

Not to mention 1.6 million posts on the restaurant board about what is, in the grand scheme of things, unimportant nonsense.

 

[TheZue]

I hate to break it to you, but kids who have parents who DON'T let them dance like that are JUST as likely to do the same "bad things" you are thinking of when THEY are teenagers.

It's not sexual to those little girls. To them, they are dancing and having fun and BEING Beyonce. I'd rather my little girl want to emulate Beyonce than Lady Gaga or Pam Anderson (she dances now, too... ) or any other number of crazy singers/dancers.

The fact it isn't sexual to those little girls is what makes it so wrong. They aren't owning this, the adults in their lives have given them the tools and shown them how to emulate a dance routine that is sexual in outfits that look like lingerie. They don't understand the message they are putting out, and it should be their choice as young if, when, and how they decide to start using their beauty and sex apeal. This really comes down to how we are dressing little girls right now, and how out of hand it's getting.

I don't see it as lingerie. I see it as a dance costume.

These girls have a HUGE talent and should be dancing as long as they want to. And how do you know they didn't go home after performing and play with dolls and make mud pies??

Hopefully they are going home and playing, but why would you have them dressed up to put out a message they don't understand? If they are going home and playing kid's games why not have a dance routine that reflects their lives as children. It's not like childhood lasts long, there are plenty of dance moves that don't include booty shaking or pelvic thrusts, and even then do you have to put them in a costume that looks like lingerie? The whole package is the problem here. I just see this as a massive failing by the parents and teachers.

She swims in a swim suit- which does not include the knee high bow socks- she does not shimmy, gyrate, hip thrust or drop her bottom like the girls in that dance routine.

For me, the whole package is what put this over the top. Everything from the red and black color of the "lingerie" to the creepy knee high bow socks- then coupled with the highly suggestive dance moves. I really don't understand how anyone could defend what was on that video. There are even dance teachers on this thread who said "No way" I have agreed with people on this thread that I NEVER agree with- Joy Behar even said the parents should be "arrested" and I NEVER agree with her. These girls should be playing dolls and making mud pies- not dancing like The PussyCat Dolls.

I agree with everything you've posted on this thread

 

[declansdad]

It's not that the video is more important than starving children. We all agree that children are beaten by drunk parents every day. This thread is an exchange of opinion, that's all, and many of us have strong opinions on the subject.

Well said.

 

[declansdad]

To those who think that the girls were just imitating the video and what they've seen from performers, one of the moms interviewed insists that the girls haven't watched the video. They learned the song and got the ideas from the Chipmunk Chipettes.

Yes, the mother said they hadn't watched the Beyonce video but some of the moves they use are in the Chipettes video, not all but some. These moves are in many videos so it is very easy for them to see and emulate them.

 

[ZeitgeistDuck]

You're not getting old- this is horribly wrong. Looking at those girls made me uncomfortable. Dressing your seven or eight year old up like a tart and having her gyrate her hips and do pelvic thrusts is disgusting and nasty. No amount of rationalization changes the fact; this is the sexualization of babies. I don't care how 'cool' the girls felt the routine was; kids do stupid things and they are not the best judge of what is appropriate. My child dances and I have never seen costumes or routines anything close to this objectionable.

If I saw 16, 17 year old girls wearing these costumes and doing this dance I would think it was merely slutty. Seeing little girls do it makes me quesiton the sanity of thier parents. This makes me Jon Benet kind of queasy.

 

[luvsJack]

There are a lot of dance moves that are overtly sexual. There are a lot of songs that make the connection between the two. (Reference Ludacris-How Low - "face down, a** up! Put in reverse just to back it up, let me put some Luda in it" And nothing against rap music, I like it, but I won't let my kids listen to it.)

This isn't something that is made up or a manifestation of puritanical beliefs. These girls are talented and I'm not trying to say that the moves are as bad as what you will find in a lot of clubs, but the whole routine, outfits, pictures, etc make it clear that being sexy was the goal. Their parents and dance instructors failed them by making it ok for them to be objectified.

Where are the boundaries? How gross does something have to be before it's bad enough? There is a backlash against this video and I'm glad because maybe the dance studios will stop pushing this crap and use more age-appropriate choreography and costumes. I just feel bad for the girls - what should have been a positive thing (their hard work and dedication to an activity that they obviously love), now has negative connotations through no fault of their own. Their parents put them out there for the world to judge in skimpy lingerie and they do not deserve that.

But if the video was not on youtube and had not suddenly caused all this sensation, how many people really would have been all up in the air about it?

You and I both know that right here on the dis there are posters that get in a bonafied tizzy over something that they would have not thought about for 2 seconds irl. I don't know if you call it mass hysteria or mass outrage or what but its like one group just feeds off another. Without youtube, it is very possible that the kids could have done the routine and not one person ever been upset about it.

As for changing, the changes will have to come from the judging in the competitions. As long as routines like this win or place, they will continue to be a part of dance. The dance schools put their dancers in competitions to win and that is what they aim for.

Its just like in cheer. Many years ago when my nieces began to cheer, the few competitions they were in did not allow stunts under a certain age. Now the stunts get to be more and more complicated. A lot of really young girls get hurt because of it, but as long as the routines are winning compeititions the stunts are going to stay. It has to change at the competition level.

BTW, many people have the same negative connatations about cheer because of their "skimpy" uniforms and their "sexual" moves.

 

[princessmom29]

Yes, the mother said they hadn't watched the Beyonce video but some of the moves they use are in the Chipettes video, not all but some. These moves are in many videos so it is very easy for them to see and emulate them.

they don't look like any Chipette I have ever seen!!!! Seriously we used this song for a tap dance for the 11-12 year olds last year, and we watched that video several times to get ideas. Cartoon chipmunks don't dance like that!!! We used a one piece coustume with a skirt that was really sparkly, lots of sequins, but still covered and age suitable and our girls DID NOT look like strippers! We got lots of compliments on the dance anyway.

 

[Mermaid02]

But if the video was not on youtube and had not suddenly caused all this sensation, how many people really would have been all up in the air about it?

You and I both know that right here on the dis there are posters that get in a bonafied tizzy over something that they would have not thought about for 2 seconds irl. I don't know if you call it mass hysteria or mass outrage or what but its like one group just feeds off another. Without youtube, it is very possible that the kids could have done the routine and not one person ever been upset about it.

As for changing, the changes will have to come from the judging in the competitions. As long as routines like this win or place, they will continue to be a part of dance. The dance schools put their dancers in competitions to win and that is what they aim for.

Its just like in cheer. Many years ago when my nieces began to cheer, the few competitions they were in did not allow stunts under a certain age. Now the stunts get to be more and more complicated. A lot of really young girls get hurt because of it, but as long as the routines are winning compeititions the stunts are going to stay. It has to change at the competition level.

BTW, many people have the same negative connatations about cheer because of their "skimpy" uniforms and their "sexual" moves.

With the internet there aren't many things that won't "get around". My grandmother used to say never put anything in writing that you dont' want the whole world to know. Now it's even more complicated, one camera phone and the whole world can see what you've been up to.

The argument that if it hadnt' been on the internet nobody would have been upset about it doesn't make sense. I am sure more than one person in that audience left shaking their head- whoever posted the video on YouTube for instance.

 

[DisMN]

We have now learned about hyperbole, condensention, condescension, and sarcasm. Would anyone like to take a stab at working irony into the tread?

Those outfits appeared to be polyester so they probably don't need much irony. On the other hand, if there were an wrinkle emergency I suppose one could press the wrinkles out on hot pavement with the *tread* of your tires.




So how'd I do? I decided to go with both irony AND your enjoyable typo.

 

[declansdad]

they don't look like any Chipette I have ever seen!!!! Seriously we used this song for a tap dance for the 11-12 year olds last year, and we watched that video several times to get ideas. Cartoon chipmunks don't dance like that!!! We used a one piece coustume with a skirt that was really sparkly, lots of sequins, but still covered and age suitable and our girls DID NOT look like strippers! We got lots of compliments on the dance anyway.

Obviously the animation would be somewhat different be the basic moves for the dance are in that video. Not the pelvic thrusts and grinds mind you but the hand movements and hip shaking was.

 

[Tricia1972]

To those who think that the girls were just imitating the video and what they've seen from performers, one of the moms interviewed insists that the girls haven't watched the video. They learned the song and got the ideas from the Chipmunk Chipettes.

Did anyone else scroll through all of the competition pictures? I did. And EVERY SINGLE TEAM had significantly more clothing on than these girls. It was an urban dance competition where people wear street wear, not the feature outfit from the February Frederick's catalog.

Oh, and the girls didn't win in the competition. This team did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INbvTMM7ohg

They won in jeans and a t-shirts?!?! I thought you couldn't dance in those

Seriously, if those girls had a similar routine with similar costumes this thread would be half as long and almost everyone would say "Job well done"

 

[Scurvy]

Obviously the animation would be somewhat different be the basic moves for the dance are in that video. Not the pelvic thrusts and grinds mind you but the hand movements and hip shaking was.

I saw the animation earlier and I agree that there are similarities between that and the little girls' routine. However, the hand movements are somewhat different in the chipmunks video. They have their hands more on their sides and slightly lower than the little girls in the video do. Many of the little girls actually appeared to be clutching or covering their chests, but in the animation the chipmunks hands weren't on their chests at all. In my opinion, changing that and adding all the pelvic thrusts and grinds really significantly changes the tone of the routine.

 

[okeydokey]

Yuck, there is no need for this at all. The parents hooting and hollering in the background as just as bad. Let's teach our 7 years old to get praise from grown ups by their sexual gyrations on the stage. The more pouting and posing the higher the praise.

 

[SeaShelley]

To those who think that the girls were just imitating the video and what they've seen from performers, one of the moms interviewed insists that the girls haven't watched the video. They learned the song and got the ideas from the Chipmunk Chipettes.

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But they didn't choreograph the routine - their dance teacher did & I'd be willing to bet she's see the Beyonce video. The mom's "excuse" doesn't work for me!

 

[declansdad]

I saw the animation earlier and I agree that there are similarities between that and the little girls' routine. However, the hand movements are somewhat different in the chipmunks video. They have their hands more on their sides and slightly lower than the little girls in the video do. Many of the little girls actually appeared to be clutching or covering their chests, but in the animation the chipmunks hands weren't on their chests at all. In my opinion, changing that and adding all the pelvic thrusts and grinds really significantly changes the tone of the routine.

Very true.

Maybe the instructor should have used this video instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz5kla5sFM4&feature=related

 

[cats mom]

To those who think that the girls were just imitating the video and what they've seen from performers, one of the moms interviewed insists that the girls haven't watched the video. They learned the song and got the ideas from the Chipmunk Chipettes.

Did anyone else scroll through all of the competition pictures? I did. And EVERY SINGLE TEAM had significantly more clothing on than these girls. It was an urban dance competition where people wear street wear, not the feature outfit from the February Frederick's catalog.

Oh, and the girls didn't win in the competition. This team did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INbvTMM7ohg

But I guarantee whoever choreographed that routine has watched the Beyonce video. It's easy to buy into the rationalization that an 8 year old child didn't realize the provacative, sexual nature of what they were doing. Not so for the adults in their lives. That's what makes it so wrong IMO.

In the spirit of full disclosure: DD dances at a studio where a promise to keep costumes and dances age appropriate is included right in the team charter. And yes, they win competitions.

 

[Scurvy]

Maybe the instructor should have used this video instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz5kla5sFM4&feature=related

The costumes are certainly less revealing.

 

[cheermom1]

Very true.

Maybe the instructor should have used this video instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz5kla5sFM4&feature=related

that was so funny! thanks

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

This thread reminds me of a blog entry by Dr JD Parnell in 2006:

...Now, I want to explain to you the social-cultural and secular forces that cause dancing to take over our communities. You see, when a new rock song or a new beat is inspired by the devil in the mind of some godless young person, that youngster will then play this music his friends and eventually market it to the whole community. The same thing happens with dancing. You see, when a new dance comes along, a few people will try it, like trying a drug, and that dance will then be tried by others, and it will eventually spread to youngsters all over the community because they think that it is "cool" or "radical" or "gnarly" or "Xtreme", as all of the so-called "Xtreme" teens out there would say. So, pretty soon, all of the youngsters are dancing in the streets, and in the homes and in the schools, and perhaps even in church! Picture it!!! Sex-crazed, drug-addled youngsters all hopped up on Pixy-Stix and MoonPies, committing acts of sin and vice, their sweating bodies pulsating and gyrating, and moving, and grooving to the devilish sounds of the latest beat!!! I call upon all of you to put an end to this insanity at once!