DHS dance class leaves gap in curriculum

PHOTO: Even with no dance class, dancers celebrate an amazing senior night.

By Holt Klineberg,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff––

The new school year has started and dance students have been left without a class. After Pamela Trokanski, the former dance teacher, retired from teaching, a hole has been left in Davis High’s physical education.

Meirav Rosenheim, a junior and experienced dancer, took the class last year to fulfill her PE requirement. Opting for a less traditional curriculum, the class was perfect for her “I would rather dance than run a mile,” Rosenheim said. Although there was less of a physical demand, the class still got participants sweating and working out.

The class consisted of around 30-35 students per period, with two periods total. These students were able to creatively express themselves in a different and, for some, a new way. Rosenheim described the class as enriching, “opening (her) eyes to different forms of dance and different music.”

Friendships between beginners and advanced dancers were created in this unique environment. Rosenheim attributes this enjoyable experience to Trokanski.

“It wouldn’t be the same without Pam, but it would be nice to have the option, especially because expression is so important and learning different forms of it,” Rosenheim said.

Julie Crawford, the PE coordinator, explained that dance could only be taught by a credentialed PE teacher who also specialized in teaching dance.

However, the new PE teacher does not have the experience to teach dance class. As dance is an additional course, and the requirements are filled when students receive dance instruction during ninth grade, finding a specialized dance teacher was not a priority.

Rosenheim will always remember Tronkanski’s teachings of being aware of your body and listening to it.

“I remember she would always say ‘these are the only knees you get for free’ and it always cracked me up. That made me more aware of not straining my body when my ankle hurts, or when I feel shin splints, or any pain that isn’t a good pain,” Rosenheim said.