MTV's Made - I want to be a hip hop dancer
 

Just a bit of FYI...

The "I want to be a hip hop dancer" episode of MTV's Made was taped at the school I used to teach at (and where Curlygirly was my student).

It's funny seeing the place where I used to work on MTV!

Anyway, they didn't mention in the show that the school is all magnet programs. I don't know how this girl could've thought she could make the squad vs girls who have been dancing for years AND who auditioned into the school. :\

But, I guess it made for good (M)TV!

Saw that show.. was actually kind of pathetic. Made me glad that HS is way, way behind me.

I don't know if it was just the camera angles or what, but she was a pretty big girl -- as in tall.

She'd have been better off trying out to be a defensive end on the football team.

They did actually mention that it was a magnet school . . . at some point near the beginning of the episode.

I hate the ones where they don't make it at whatever they're doing...I feel so bad for them!

Me too.....

In her case, I saw just how few girls they actually picked and how many actually tried out....so, it was a bit of a longshot, it seems.

pardon me for sounding dumb, but what's a magnet school?

From my experience, "magnet" schools are public schools with specialized programs that you either apply, audition, or interview to be part of. Magnet schools "attract" students from out of the normal boundaries of the school.

That's right. I went to a Magnet Performing Arts school from 4-12th grade. I went to a feeder school- an elementary school where students also participated in a performing arts, as such the students there are more inclined to continue it.

ETA: I have to say that busing in the most spoiled of rich kids and trying to get them to coincide with the kids from the poor neighborhoods was certainly.....interesting.

<--went to a Magnet School
 

I enjoyed the episode. I admire her drive to do something that people didn't think she would do. Now I knew there was no way she was going to make the team but I think it took a lot for her to go out of her comfort zone.

umm.... i could tell she wasn't going to make it. by the end, she still couldn't dance and she didn't look like any of the other girls. i'm not skinny either, but i saw the outfits that the dancers wore and i don't think she would have been able to pull that off.

There were at least a couple girls on the team that were on the chunky side too, though.

But I do think that her coach should have had her doing more in terms of dieting and exercise.

This school is ALL magnet, meaning, you have to apply for one of the programs in order to attend. Even if you live next to the school, you can't attend unless you're picked in the lottery. But there are a lot of kids who the local neighborood who attend.

The magnets are art, business, leisure medicine, agriculture, & International Baccalaureate/International Studies. Hmm..am I forgetting one? (Since I was the journalism adviser, I wasn't a magnet teacher; I was just part of the Language Arts dept.)

You didn't have much freedom in choosing an elective, because you had to take whatever you were "majoring" in. Obviously, this made it hard for non-magnet elective teachers (journalism, debate, etc) to maintain an experienced staff/team all 4 years.

School website. http://coralreef.dadeschools.net

BTW, it's not "rich kids" who are bused into this particular school. It's kids from within the same region, of all socio-economic classes. It's all based on race, and the school is 1/3 of each: non-hispanic white, hispanic, and black/African-American.

Now, back to the episode: the girl was definitely trying to take on too much, with chorus, school, work, and then adding on the gym & dance lessons...not to mention having it all taped for TV! No wonder she was exhausted.

It was entertaining, but I agree that she was a longshot for making the team.