Timpview Dance and Ballroom collaborated in a fundraiser event on October 23 titled, “Dancing with the Athletes.” Insinuated by the title, there was a third collaborator for the event: Timpview’s Athletes. Each dance in the production featured at least one or two athletes among the dancers, with some having as many as ten. The show featured a wide range of music, with songs by The Beatles, Kendrick Lamar, and even Metallica. While the event showed great promise of helping Timpview’s programs to work together, it poses some questions towards the integrity of Timpview’s funding. 

The sports programs at Timpview have been known to gain much recognition and reward from the district for a long time now, most noticeably being the football team. Football is the most funded program at Timpview, while most of the art programs have been underrepresented. While it’s great to see athletes supporting dancers in an event meant to raise money for Dance and Ballroom, is has to be questioned why the fundraiser is needed in the first place. 

The crowd at the fundraiser was filled with supporters of Timpview’s athletes, and they cheered on no matter the amount of effort the athletes put into their respective performances. For a long time, the arts have had to fight to get half the amount of recognition from the school as athletics does. It’s time for the arts to get just as much of a chance as athletes do; that is the message I hope people gained from attending “Dancing with the Athletes.” In order to maintain the honorability of a school, equal opportunity and funding should go towards all students, regardless of whether their interests are towards sports, academics, or the arts.