There comes a moment at every dance competition where I find myself thinking the same thing ... STOP THROWING GLITTER AT THINGS AND TRYING TO MAKE THEM YOURS, WHITE PEOPLE.
Ahem.
So ... here's how the moment goes ... The Hip Hop section of the competition pops up and, inevitably, there is a routine that punches me in the gut with its raw emotion and power and energy. The performers of those numbers are always Black. Always. Hip Hop dance is a thing that is unique to Black culture and it is amazing and perfect and beautiful when it is reflective of its roots.
And then come the white people. There is always, absolutely always, a routine filled with little white girls wearing glitter tanks under their flannel shirts with bedazzled low-rise jeans. They absolutely always "cute up" what could be a great dance because ... I don't know? It's too Black if it's not cute? I honestly don't understand the need to glitter it up and soften the edges. But those girls look ridiculous and I'm not afraid to write the words where they can be seen because it's the most blatant example of cultural appropriation I can find in life.
Irish Clog dancing. It's uniquely Irish. You look dumb if you glitter it up and try to make it a suburban white thing.
Flamenco dancing. It's uniquely Spanish. You look dumb if you glitter it up and try to make it a surburban white thing.
Tribal rain dancing. You've caught the pattern by now and I think pretty much anyone with a brain could look at Native American rain dancing and think it would be a terrible idea to glitter up some feathers and perform a version at a dance competition. Terrible and racist.
Just like it's terrible and racist when you glitter up that Hip Hop dance. (I'm looking at you, Miley.)
To be fair, I think it's completely possible for a dance to properly respect the culture it comes from. I've seen lots and lots of dance studios that manage to walk the line in a way that allows their dancers to learn and respect a dance style from another culture. White girls don't look dumb dancing hip hop; white girls look dumb when they "white up" hip hop.
And while I'm angering Miss Candy and her legion of little white dancers, LOOK AROUND. If your dance studio is wall-to-wall white kids, maybe ask yourself some questions. Are there really no Black kids in your area who enjoy dance? Not a one of them wants to learn to get better at Hip Hop or Ballet or Tap at your studio?
Huh.
I wonder why that might be.