Posted on 09/20/2005 9:10:11 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever
It sounded like something out of a teen competition movie such as "Drumline" or "Bring it On."
But the brawl that broke out Saturday night at McAdams Park following a spontaneous "dance-off" wasn't a movie scene, and police and city officials on Monday were sorting through the aftermath that left one person hurt and two others -- a mother and a son -- facing criminal charges.
"This is a whole new arena" of crime, said Lt. Jeff Easter of the Wichita Police Department's gang and felony assault section.
The Dancing Steppers, a local drill team, was practicing routines at McAdams Park near 13th and I-135 on Saturday night when members of another drill team, the White Tigers, showed up and challenged the others to what was described as a "dance-off," police said.
When it became clear the challengers were losing, Easter said, a 28-year-old woman struck a 17-year-old drummer with the Dynamic Steppers in the face with a drum stick. The teen, who had left the White Tigers recently to join the Dynamic Steppers, retaliated by punching her in the face. He then ran toward his Ford Explorer and tried to run over spectators with it, witnesses told police.
The boy's mother, who served as a coach of the Dynamic Steppers, grabbed a box cutter and sliced the other woman's right arm, Easter said. The wound required eight stitches.
An estimated 50 people were involved in the altercation, although only two people were facing charges on Monday.
The mother was booked on suspicion of aggravated battery for cutting the other woman, Easter said, and the son faces charges of simple assault and aggravated assault.
Police said additional charges are possible.
Larry Foos, director of parks and recreation for the city, said a park employee told him the Dynamic Steppers had been practicing earlier in the day not far from Barry Sanders Field, but their whistles were confusing players in a youth league football game under way on the field.
The drill team was asked to move to another part of the park so their whistles would not interfere with the football game, Foos said.
"There was no conflict at all from that," he said. "They understood completely."
The brawl won't lead to changes in access or activities at the park, Foos said. To do that, he said, would be "an over-reaction" to Saturday's fight.
"I just believe this is one of those crazy, isolated incidents that happen once in a while," Foos said. "Thankfully, these incidents are rare."
Police may be asked to step up patrols at the park after ball games, he said, to discourage confrontations.
I once wrote a comment on the back of a prop (I was a prop dad and we made these elaborate moveable stages) for my daughters dance team. There was this one team (unnammed) that always got near perfect scores. I never understood the judging, and it was taboo to try to understand the judging. Anyhoo, the girls were having a really bad practice. My comment was "If you think you are having a bad day, (unnammed) just took second." The comment took our girls mind off how bad they were doing and it all started coming together. To make a long story short, the comment stayed on the prop with a whole lot of other comments that people were writing on them, and a parent from the other unnammed team saw my comment at a competition. The fact that she was going through our props backstage was not considered. A complaint was filed and our team nearly didn't get the chance to compete. That was it for me and my daughter found another activity where people took themselves less seriously and enjoyed the shows (Marching Band). Marching Band competitions are still judged, and you may not agree with the outcomes, but at least the parents get along, enjoy the shows, and it's all about the kids.
I'm picturing that one episode of South Park...
I HAVE!
Hilarious thread ping!
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
please, somebody post pics of the danceoff in Starsky and Hutch ....Disco Rick doing the rope pull, and Starsky driving the disco big rig...
SUV violence !
What is needed is a coalition of community leaders to address this issue.
Owl,
I sense a little step-team bias on your part. This could become the beginning of a serious trend here. Can you imagine what could happen if there were a confrontation between Cloggers and let's say ..... MUMMERS.
The humanity. We must nip it...
Hah, I will go you one better, I got kicked out of my Junior prom for "Excessive Flouncing"!
(No I am not kidding. I still have the official school note somewhere that has those exact words listed as the reason I was sent home! I consider it a badge of honor.)
this one's for you, bruck!
We're clearly in a dance-off bubble. Greenspan said so today.
This could get ugly.
People, people, people, you're missing the point, clearly, this is BUSH's fault, clearly!
Drill teams and Dance teams
You try to associate dance teams with Drill or Step? HAH! When they make a cinematic masterpiece like Drumline or dedicate an entire stage of The Greek Picnic about a dance team, then you can think about comparing that pathetic passtime to The Sports of Kings!
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
At least no one has mentioned the evils of rock music. Somehow I don't think that was a part of the background here.
**LOL** It's Jim C. in a too too...
Too good not to share...
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