No 'freak dancing' in Folsom

The latest combat zone in the war between the generations is Folsom, where an entrepreneurial disc jockey has been throwing dance parties for teenagers tired of the rules at their high school dances.

Strapless, backless and see-through tops – absolute no-nos at school functions – are just fine at "Klub Kaoss." So are bras and bustiers instead of shirts, and shorts and skirts the size of some underpants. For $15, kids can "freak dance" as much as they want, facing none of the limits schools have imposed on boys rubbing their fronts on girls' backsides on the dance floor.

"The kids are grinding and freaking, that's just how the generation is," said Lance Soto, the 22-year-old DJ who launched the teen dance parties at the Folsom Community Center.

"That's why I created Kaoss, so they could go and dance the way they want. They wouldn't want to pay and go where it's restricted, like a high school dance."

But then parents saw pictures of the parties on Klub Kaoss' MySpace page. School administrators and city officials heard from them.

Folsom officials asked Soto to put more restrictions on his dance parties – make them more like school dances, they told him, with a dress code and a ban on freak dancing. Soto said no. So in December, the city decided not to rent the community center to Klub Kaoss anymore.

"We received a great number of complaints from parents who had viewed pictures of the kids' behavior at the dances," Assistant City Manager Evert Palmer said. "And we had received complaints from the school district that it was competing with their dances and not holding students to the same standards."

About 600 teens – most 14 to 18 years old – packed each of the five dance parties held between June and December.

"That was one of the main things I went for, there wasn't dancing rules or anything like that," said Brad Reynolds, a senior at Granite Bay High School. "There was really no regulation."

At school dances, on the other hand, administrators check for dress code compliance before kids can walk through the front doors, and teachers roam dance floors to break up dirty dancing.

Principals have devised countless strategies to keep the "freak" out of dancing. At Roseville High, the lights go on if students start to freak. Folsom High takes students' entry wristbands away the first time they're caught freak dancing. The second time, they're kicked out of the dance.

Some schools play more rock music and less rap, the style associated with the thrusting dance moves. Many schools ban students from putting their hands on the floor because girls were bending over at the waist while boys danced with their behinds.

"We've gotten some feedback from our kids that they think we're a little too strict on our dances. We continue to tell them that we're not going to waver," said Jess Borjon, principal of Woodcreek High, where students who freak at one dance are suspended from the next one.

"There are some common decency standards that we're going to abide by."

Catholic high schools in the region require that DJs take breaks throughout the evening – the music stops, the lights go up, and kids are supposed to cool off and talk.

Yes, talk. Just as their parents and grandparents might have done when they were scolded for dancing the Charleston or the twist – or watching Elvis and his swiveling pelvis.

"My parents worried about our dancing and their parents worried about their dancing," said Mike McGuire, principal of Granite Bay High. "I realize I'm just one more in the chain of people saying, 'Where is civilization heading?' "

Still, what flies at a nightclub for adults is not necessarily acceptable at a dance for teenagers, some grown-ups said. Soto hired 20-year-old go-go dancers wearing bustiers, hot pants and thigh-high stockings to gyrate on stage at Klub Kaoss parties.

"It's just part of the scene," said Soto, who goes by the name "DJ Elements" and spins at several Sacramento nightclubs.

Kids aren't going to stop dancing the way they want to, Soto said, and if they're thrown out of school dances, Klub Kaoss is a safe alternative.

Soto's parties are strictly alcohol- and drug-free and patrolled by private security and off-duty police, he said. Only students with high school IDs are admitted, so there is no risk of adults mixing with the kids.

The parties are restricted to students from a dozen public high schools – in Folsom, Granite Bay, Roseville, Rocklin and El Dorado County – and three Catholic schools in Sacramento.

Soto, who lives in El Dorado Hills and graduated from Ponderosa High, said local kids need a safe and fun place to dance.

But if parents thought Soto's dances were too racy for their teens, why did they let them go?

Palmer, the assistant city manager, said some mistakenly thought the dances were put on by the city because they were at the community center. It wasn't until a dance in November that Palmer got a look at what was happening inside.

"I saw a great deal of freak dancing by kids that could be wearing a lot more than they were. It's not suggestive dancing – it is way beyond suggestive," Palmer said. "We weren't seeing eye to eye on the type of event they wanted to have."

Despite the parting of the ways, Soto is not giving up. He said he's looking for a new, private venue in Folsom or El Dorado Hills so he can revive Klub Kaoss and bring dancing back to the teenage masses.

"If I were to do Klub Kaoss again, which I'm planning on," Soto said, "it would be exactly the same."

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