Waunakee High School 'Psych Ward' dancers tone down crazy routine

Waunakee High School "Psych Ward" dancers tone down crazy routine

By Hart Van Denburg Mon., Feb. 7 2011 at 4:05 PM

Screen grab: Waunakee Tribune

This has nothing to do with mental health.

The Waunakee High School varsity dance team has been performing a number called "Psych Ward" recently, decked out in wild makeup and make-believe straitjackets, while snarling at the crowd.

Hannibal Lecter might have tapped his toe to the hip-hop soundtrack, but when a photo of the dance routine appeared in the local paper, mental health advocates in Wisconsin and beyond weren't crazy about what they saw.

The team has been ordered to cover up the words "Psych Ward" on the costumes, and it had to pay a public penance when it competed over the weekend at a state meet.

As a result of our heightened awareness, we have altered our dance costumes for this state competition. We assure everyone that this routine was never intended to hurt anyone's feelings and we apologize to anyone we might have offended.

Here's the photo that set everyone off:

Screen grab via the Waunakee Tribune

Mental health advocates didn't like this photo, and its message, in the Waunakee Tribune.

Erin Cotter, the team's coach, told the Capital Times she's flummoxed by the bad press. A competing team last year dressed in orange prison jump suits and nobody complained about that, she said. What's the difference?

"Our intent had nothing to do with mental illness. Our total intent was just a hip-hop dance and the songs and the words that were popular," she said. "The thought never crossed my mind or the school's or the parents' or the kids' that it was about mental illness."

Straitjackets and the words "Psych Ward" have nothing to do with mental illness? Wisconsin really is a weird place sometimes.

Tags:

Waunakee High School, weird wisconsin

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James

Are you kidding me? This woman should be fired and those who are trying to play cover up should really take a hard look at themselves.

johnchinm

your a stupid dumb fuck everyone just has it out for wauankee because they are on top of the state and nation in almost every sport they do. ANd some loser was jealous so she decided it would be funny to complain, get a life you bums, lifes only offensive if you make a big deal tough it out. and by the way all this targeting only waunakee stuff hasnt work so far but good luck

Lawrence Eberhard

yeah well maybe the dumb fucks in good ol waunakee have been hit the head too many times playing almost every damn sport they do. A real man or a real woman and I might mention a real friend doesn't spend all his time looking out for the winners in waunakee or anywhere else; he or she saves some of his or her best looking out for others. Wise up, you look really dumb now--and I'm not jealous.