Out-Of-Class #1: Another Almost ...

 ... with the same fatal problem. The other problem here is a story where we get one side of an argument, but never reach out to the other side to get their side of things.

(name redacted)

June 26, 2014

DANCE BECOMING IHSA

Out of Class Story #1

The Head Coach of the Wheaton-Warrenville South High School (WWSHS) NO NEED FOR PARENTHESES/ACRONYM IN FIRST REFERENCE; JUST USE FULL AND FORMAL NAME ON FIRST REFERENCE, THEN JUST THE ACRONYM IN SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT REFERENCES, PER AP STYLE Dance Team, and dancers are affected by a controversial change THE NEWS ISN’T THAT THERE WAS A CONTROVERSIAL CHANGE; IT’S WHAT THE CHANGE WAS: THE CONTROVERSIAL ADDITION OF DANCE AS A RECOGNIZED TEAM SPORT put into affect EFFECT, STED AFFECT last year by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). NO NEED FOR PARENTHESES/ACRONYM IN FIRST REFERENCE; JUST USE FULL AND FORMAL NAME ON FIRST REFERENCE, THEN JUST THE ACRONYM IN SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT REFERENCES, PER AP STYLE

WWSHS, and various other HOW MANY? schools in Illinois have accepted dance as a sport in the IHSA, which was a big change for some teams.

Athletic Director of WWSHS, Mike Healy, was one of the main decision-makers in the change at the school, he said.

“It’s our state association, and we wanted our dance team to get recognized that they were given the option to compete in the IHSA just like all the other sports at our school,” Healy said.

“Dance has always been a part of athletics here at South, we always gave it the same respect and support we gave all the other sports teams at our school, but now the IHSA has decided to recognize it now as well, and I think it’s a good thing,” Healy said.

Healy said that the girls on the team do work really hard, and they deserve to be recognized by the IHSA.

“But, I think that when the IHSA chose to recognize dance as an athletic, they kind of jumped into the world of dance without knowing what type of effect they would have on the teams of Illinois high schools,” Healy said

WE ARE MISSING A MAJOR SOURCE HERE: SOMEONE FROM THE IHSA. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THEIR INTENTIONS, AND WE’RE MAKING ALLEGATIONS REGRDING THEIR ACTIONS. SO WE NEED TO GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO RESPOND TO EACH POINT MADE ABOUT THE IHSA.

Tiffany Marconi, head coach of WWSHS for the past six years, has seen the affects EFFECTS, STED AFFECTS of this change on her dancers, and has changed the way she coaches her team, she said.  

“I have had to cut girls from my team because the IHSA state dance competition is more focused on technical aspects of dance like tricks than artistic aspects,” Marconi said.

Marconi has a different opinion DON’T JUST SAY SHE HAS A DIFFERENT OPINION; STATE WHAT THE OPINION IS: SHE IS WARY, OR WHATEVER WORD YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE on the change, and the IHSA organization, though she is grateful for the support the school has given her team through out THROUGHOUT IS ONE WORD the years, she said.

“I respect IHSA for the work they do with the main athletics, like football or basketball, but I don’t think IHSA understands dance as a sport and an art form,” Marconi said.  

AGAIN, IHSA REACTION TO THE PRECEEDING COMMENTS ARE NEEDED HERE

Before being told by the athletics board at WWSHS that dance was required to compete in the IHSA, Marconi’s team competed in a statewide competition hosted by “Team Dance Illinois (TDI),” Marconi said.

“TDI is different from IHSA. When you compete IHSA you have different categories of dance competing against each other, but in TDI there are separate categories for each style of dance and one state title winner for each category,” Marconi said.

Marconi said that she doesn’t like the fact that hip-hop routines and routines that incorporate pom-poms, two completely different styles of dance that take different skills, are pitted against each other.

“Each style of dance is so different that they should not be competing against each other, it isn’t fair,” Marconi said.

AGAIN, IHSA RESPONSE TO WHY THEY DO IT THE WAY THEY DO IT

But, the IHSA might be changing that concept next year, by adding categories to the state dance competition, Marconi said.

Marconi, who was a competitive dancer throughout her youth as well as a professional NBA dancer for the Chicago Bulls, knows the world of dance pretty well, she said. 

Therefore, Marconi said she is mostly bothered by the lack of knowledge and experience the judges of the IHSA competitive dance competition have.

“I am not happy with the judges. Some of them are former cheerleaders that never danced, and the person in charge of IHSA Competitive Dance has no dance background,” Marconi said.

AGAIN, GET IHSA’S SIDE TO THAT ACCUSATION

On the other hand, a head captain, and dancer from a nearby school does have a different opinion on the idea of dance becoming an IHSA athletic at her school, Wabonsie *** FATAL FACT ERROR: WAUBONSIE, STED WABONSIE *** Valley High School (WVHS). ) NO NEED FOR PARENTHESES/ACRONYM IN FIRST REFERENCE; JUST USE FULL AND FORMAL NAME ON FIRST REFERENCE, THEN JUST THE ACRONYM IN SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT REFERENCES, PER AP STYLE

“It is wonderful and an honor to be recognized as a sport and it provides more intense competition for dance teams,” Mary-Allison Mahacek said.

“Dance is as much of a sport as any other team activity. It requires strength and charisma and teamwork,” she said.

Mahacek is going to be a senior at WVHS and has been dancing since she was three years old, she said.

Mahacek has been on the varsity squad at her school since her freshman year of high school and has competed in TDI, like Marconi’s team, and now IHSA as well, since her school made the switch to IHSA last year, she said.

Mahacek said that the fact that different styles of dance are competing against each other is a strange difference between TDI and IHSA, but she said she has a positive outlook on the change, opposed to Marconi.

“I love competing in general and to me it does not matter…I enjoy the competitive nature of IHSA and how it really pushes people to work hard for their high school teams goals,” Mahacek said.

Source List

Athletic Director of Wheaton-Warrenville South: Mike Healy

healy.mike@cusd200.org, 630-784-7245

Wheaton-Warrenville South Dance Team Head Coach: Tiffany Marconi

marconi.tiffany@cusd200.org, 630-330-6179

Wabonsie Valley High School Dancer: Mary-Allison Mahacek

Maryallison.mahacek@gmail.com, 630-272-7250

ASSIGNMENT GRADE: 1.0 (1 FACT FATAL)

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: THIS ONE MADE ME SAD, BECAUSE YOU DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB IF NOT FOR THE FATAL. THE GOOD NEWS IS, IF YOU FIX NOTHING ELSE BUT THE FATAL FOR THE REWRITE YOUR GRADE WILL CERTAINLY GO UP. THE BETTER NEWS IS, IF YOU CANBALANCE THE STORY BY GETTING IHSA REACTION TO THE COMMENTS, YOUR GRADE CAN GO WAY UP. IT’S NOT ENOUGH FOR US TO GET ONE SIDE OF A STORY; WHEN ONE SIDE COMMENTS ABOUT ANOTHER SIDE, WE MUST GET A HOLD OF THAT OTHER SIDE FOR THEIR SIDE OF THINGS.