ISU Bengal

Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Life

Media Credit: Nee Alistair D. Do these dancers strike fear in your heart like they do Josh?

Provocative moves in sexy shorts made me wonder if our school mascot should not be changed from the Bengal tiger to the Bengal Dancers. Our mascot should strike fear into the hearts our opponents, and while a tiger can be scary, I know personally that there is not much scarier than a woman.

That is not to say that women are inherently scary. I am quite the fan, but I am petrified by them, which I am sure stems from having no clue as to what to do around them. Put a whole squad of women together in matching uniforms and our opponents would cave at the sight of the first set of choreographed kicks and jumps, or at least I know I would.

The Bengal Dancers farewell performance in Reed Gymnasium on Jan. 14 was met with the screaming cheers of aspiring young dancer girls and the wide eyes and red cheeks of the men in the audience. After a brief introduction of each Bengal Dancer, the performances began. Many local schools and dance academies were in attendance to perform their routines for the highly supportive audience. The dances were comprised of young girls of all ages and sizes, spattered with makeup, glitter, ribbons, feather boas and even more makeup.

The night was planned to raise money to support the Bengal Dancers, and judging by the packed seating, their mission was likely accomplished. The Bengal Dancers have worked hard and they deserved the support of everyone showed during their performance.

The young girls who admire and look up to the Bengal Dancers have a good reason to. In no portion of the Bengal Dancers' performance did they reach an inappropriate level of suggestiveness.

Sadly, I cannot say the same for many of the younger dancers who performed that night. It was a shame that certain young girls' provocative gyrations took attention away from the quality performances of the Bengal Dancers and some of the other performers.

Midway through the evening, I started to feel awkward and uneasy. One major distraction from the pleasant experience came from the progression of costumes that seemed to be getting skimpier as the girls got smaller and younger. The moves were evolving as well into motions I would never allow my daughter to do- if I had a daughter.

Continued...

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