Although we are still only halfway done with this school year, many students are already planning their class schedules for next school year. Prioritizing core classes with the electives can be a little stressful and overwhelming; however, one thing that students at West can be sure of is that we have a lot of great class choices to choose from.
One of the Normal West electives for physical education is Dance Fitness.
Dance Fitness is welcomed to all and a “really neat life skill to try,” says dance fitness teacher, Mrs. Molly Sharer-Barbee.
Sharer-Barbee has been continuously teaching this class since 2012 when she came to Normal West. Over the years, she has had a variety of students.
“We get some people who have danced since childhood, and they just want to do their passion for a PE credit. But we also get people that are scared of other PE classes,” explains Sharer-Barbee.
One nice thing about the Dance Fitness class is that there are 4 semesters worth of materials so students are able to take the class more than once.
Right now, the current Dance Fitness class is “dancing around the world,” learning many different cultural dances from different countries.
As for next year, they will be learning aerobics-style of dances, where they will use different dances as a workout. In addition, they will be completing social forms of dance consisting of Swig, Latin Ballroom, Salsa, Cha Cha, and Bachata. All different genres of dance will be performed.
One of Sharer-Barbee students, senior Anna Phillips, is a dancer outside of the course.
“You’re able to learn more than just dance like different cultures so even as a dancer you can still learn more.” says Phillips.
Sharer-Barbee is currently teaching 4 dance fitness classes each day. She describes her class as being a very welcoming environment to just come practice and learn dances.
“They take a lot of time to build the community because its hard to dance in front of people, she notes.
Dance Fitness is a class that you can take for a PE credit, and you should add to your schedule if this sounds interesting to you.
