The Junior-Senior Dance Battle is a much-anticipated event in our school’s homecoming traditions. The hype surrounding the event can be chalked up to many things including the fact that some of us have grown up in this school and anticipate its return year after year. Also, who doesn’t want to see a bunch of teenage boys embarrass themselves in front of the entire school? 

Thankfully, this tradition continues on but not without a healthy dose of changes to the performance, the preparation and the name.

   While the changes received mixed reviews, the name change was a good decision. The term “powderpuff” actually refers to a delicate pad that is used to apply powder to the face. This has a negative connotation for both women and men. The term insinuates that women who participate in powderpuff are more fragile or delicate than their male counterparts on the football team. It is also demasculinizing to the men by saying that if they participate in the dance then they are being effeminate and unmanly. These are unfair labels to put onto kids our age. Women can be sporty and men can dance without feeling bad about the way they are perceived.

   The most major and controversial change is the decision not to perform the dances at the pep rally. While the rationale behind this makes sense (because there have been times in the past when dances did not go according to plan), I still disagree with the decision. Many people probably did not get to see the dance because of this, and I think that is a shame because it has been an iconic part of the homecoming celebration. 

   We shouldn’t be deprived of experiences because of past students or because of the possibility that we may make a bad decision. I think it is important for us to be given trust from the administration, especially since many of the dancers and coaches worked so hard to get the routine up to administration’s standards. It was unfortunate that they were unable to perform because to me, that shows a lack of trust in the student body.

   While some may disagree with the process to get dances approved, I personally believe that it is a necessary aspect of the rehearsal. This is not because of how risque it might be, but more so because administration sometimes identifies content that could trigger other students. 

   The general consensus seems to be that the juniors’ performance was better, however the interruption in the seniors’ dance makes it a lot harder to compare the two. This not only skipped over part of their routine but also generally threw them off. 

   “The [senior] boys didn’t really have a fighting chance to perform as practiced simply because the music cut out,” senior Taylor Brown said.

   As a cheerleader myself I can safely say that the juniors’ performance was overall very impressive. This is due to organization, cleaner moves, and junior Nico Santiago. Santiago was the star of the show by a mile due to his background in gymnastics. 

   “I loved performing our dance,” Santiago said. “It was definitely the peak of my high school career so far.”