Student blushes cause school to scrap dance

BEIJING: A Chinese school, trying to spice up a staid playground dance class, was forced to scrap a waltz routine that left pupils red and sweaty with embarrassment, local media said on Tuesday.   

Last June the Chinese Education Ministry, concerned over rising obesity among the nation's children, ordered compulsory dance exercises including waltzes at all primary and secondary schools.

The ministry later clarified its instructions, saying the exercises must take place in large groups, after parents complained that having boys and girls dance hand in hand could lead to puppy love and neglect of their studies.   

Teachers at a middle school in the central province of Hunan found puppy love was far from pupils' minds when a well-meaning attempt to add panache to a waltz backfired, the Beijing News reported, citing a local newspaper.   

A finishing flourish, where girls fell back into their male partners' arms, was deemed too risky by the student body.   

"When he touches my waist, I feel really ticklish and can't complete the move," the paper quoted Ding Wei as saying.   

"I'm simply too embarrassed to hold her waist," said Ding's sweaty-browed partner, Zhang Wei.   

Teachers conceded that the dance move had been ill-advised, and subsequently cancelled it.   

"We would have to give them mental preparation before each exercise," the paper quoted one teacher as saying.