Local News

MINNETONKA, Minn. (WCCO) ― Older people have often taken issue with the way young people dance. It happened with the Beatles, with Elvis on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and in movies like "Footloose." And for the last several years, it's been happening at Minnetonka High School.

"They're duplicating sexual acts," explains Principal Dave Adney. "It's suggestive sexually, and we've tried to calm that down."

Students say their grinding moves aren't naughty — they're just the way kids dance.

"It's the normal thing," said Senior Emily Jordano. "You're at the dance with a date, you go up, you start grinding, that's just kind of what you do."

But it's not what Adney wants her or any of the Minnetonka students to do. This is the fourth year his staff has produced an anti-grinding video. The humorous videos run during school announcements and often end up on YouTube.

The latest video on YouTube portrays a little boy and girl dancing to the song "Low" by Flo Rida. Playing the part of the dancers are teachers Darren Best and Leah Dasovich.

In the middle of the video the principal pops up to compliment their dancing.

"Truly amazing. Look at the passion. Look at the energy. Look at the excitement," Adney said. "Yet there's no suggestive stuff, nothing nasty going on."

After taking a break to do a dance move, Adney finishes his message.

"So now remember on Saturday night, dance like grandma's watchin'. Be good," he says in the video.

The videos vary from year to year, but the theme stays the same — dance like grandma's watchin'.

Best said appropriate dancing and the push for that kind of dancing is necessary.

"We've had a problem over the last couple of years with kids grinding and doing some inappropriate things on the dance floor, and we just want to let the kids know we're aware of it," he said. "We want to make a safe, fun atmosphere for kids to have a dance."

The teacher got so sweaty dancing he was going to have to hit the showers before returning to class.
"Yeah, It's hard work," he said with a laugh. "It's hard work dancing when you're old like me."

Adney decided to do something after hearing from kids who were uncomfortable with the provocative dancing at school dances.

"We had kids who were feeling this is just too nasty, I don't want to go," Adney said.

Especially when it sounds like a number of students are dancing that way.

"I would say easily 50 percent of the kids go to that if you're not watching them," Adney said. "They say, 'Mr. Adney, we've grown up dancing this way, we don't know any other way.' That's why in some of our videos, we'll actually teach."

Sure enough, in a previous video, Adney and a couple other teachers show students how to do the lawnmower.

At the first dance this year, Minnetonka chaperones took the dance-like-grandma's-watchin' theme pretty far. They stood on tables with flashlights. If they didn't like the way a couple was dancing, they shined a light on them.

"The fact that they were on the tables was, it was a little much," said Junior Ryan McCarten. "It just made for a kind of uncomfortable atmosphere."

Students like McCarten complained, and at last Saturday's homecoming dance, the flashlights were put away. Grandma may not have been watchin', but chaperones still were.

"We've asked people to step off the floor, and they have left," Adney said. "We can set the boundaries here and we don't want (grinding) here. So you're not a bad person, but we're not gonna let that occur."

There's disagreement between students and staff about whether grinding is appropriate. There's also a generation gap -- students' parents and teachers may have been doing the hustle when they were in junior high and high school.

Jordano said that's quite apparent when she talks to her mom about school dances.

"She tells me how they danced when they were in high school, and I just say, 'Times have changed,'" she said.

Adney said students offer a couple arguments. One is that if a few kids are bothered by grinding, they should stay home. But that's a no-go with Adney, who wants to create an inclusive environment.

"The other argument that the kids do is that if my girlfriend doesn't mind if I'm rubbing on her and my boyfriend doesn't mind that I'm rubbing on him, then whose business is it?" Adney said. "That goes back to third party harassment. That didn't exist a few years ago when we were in high school. Now if we have an official complaint, we have to take action against the students and investigate it."

Adney isn't afraid to offer his opinion -- with a little humor, of course. He wishes parents would do the same.

"Kids listen," he said. "All the data tells us, they may not look you in the eye, and say, 'Hey, thanks for the input on my dance move, Ma,' but they are listening."

Even admitted grinders like Jordano say the videos have made a difference.

"I always think at the dances — 'Am I gonna get (in trouble)? What are they gonna say? Is this appropriate? Is this going too far?" Jordano said. "I do believe kids have toned it down. I do believe that."

Click the links below to see their anti-grinding video campaign.
Anti-Grinding Video #1
Anti-Grinding Video #2
Anti-Grinding Video #3
Anti-Grinding Video #4
Anti-Grinding Video #5
Anti-Grinding Video #6
Anti-Grinding Video #7

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