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Ballroom Dancing in School? Of Course!: With Every Move, Students Gain Self-Esteem

Posted on: Saturday, 14 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Dawn Bormann, The Kansas City Star, Mo.

Jan. 14--A prepubescent shock wave sweeps across the elementary school gymnasium.

Boys shriek. Girls giggle.

Minutes into a ballroom-dance lesson, no one is objecting to rumba instructions.

But touching a girl's hand?

"I've never done that before," one boy squeals.

And that's exactly the point: Kansas City, Kan., school officials believe a program introducing such students to ballroom dancing could open undiscovered possibilities for them, in a district where less than 1 percent of nearly 20,000 students take private music lessons.

The program is inspired by the 2005 documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom," which followed fifth-graders from three schools in New York during a 10-week program that proved dancing's effects go far beyond learning fancy footwork. The documentary traces students of all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds learning to dance in lessons that lead up to an intense citywide competition.

In it, teachers wiped away tears as they explained how dancing gave students -- whether from a privileged or an impoverished background -- the chance to shine and gain self-esteem. One young man had not mastered the English language but had perfected his steps, social graces and concentration; a young girl won over audiences when she shared her dreams of becoming a dancer.

"The kids in that movie are our kids," said Jean Ney, coordinator of music, visual arts and physical education for the Kansas City, Kan., district.

The district's new program, Ballroom Dance Blast, comes at a time when formal dance has been revived with a newfound passion in American households. Dance studios see new customers almost weekly. Cable and television shows have cashed in on the trend as well.

The reason?

"It's a good emotional feel," said Mark Harris, a professional dancer who owns Walters Dance Center and leads the Kansas City, Kan., dance program.

Harris has watched the art form change people's lives.

Self-esteem is the most immediate change.

Dancers hold their heads up higher, if for no other reason than because posture is a key component for proper dance. Social skills are also mandatory for ballroom favorites like the merengue and tango. In the documentary, for example, teachers insist that children tuck in shirt tails and cover belly buttons.

Harris put down the ground rules early for some giddy elementary students.

"A couple of things we need to talk about," he said. "While we're doing the dancing, we act like ladies and gentlemen."

Harris doesn't usually teach ballroom dancing to children so young, but he was nonetheless intrigued by the idea.

"It's something that the kids wouldn't ever have a chance to maybe even try," Harris said.

District officials said it's not hard to figure out why. Disposable income is not easy to come by in a district where nearly 80 percent of children qualify for federally subsidized lunches.

That is why officials jumped when longtime dancer Marjorie Rees and Mary Beth Gentry's youth-minded organization, Empower for Health Partners, approached the district about the program. Rees agreed to pay for the lessons, and Gentry's agency agreed to help organize the details with the district.

Rees was surprised at how quickly the district accepted the offer.

"I thought some people would say, ‘Ballroom dancing?' "

She didn't know many administrators had already seen the documentary together as a team-building exercise. They knew there was little chance of starting the program without outside funds.

In New York, dance lessons are offered at several schools during the regular school day as part of physical education. But a classroom setting here was not an option, Ney said.

"With the confines of No Child Left Behind and testing focused on reading and math, we can't," Ney said.

Instead, the program began this month as part of KidZone, an after-school program. It is offered at three sites -- one middle school and two elementary schools.

If successful, administrators will expand the sites. But don't expect the extreme citywide competition of New York just yet. Ney expects the lessons to culminate with a ballroom event where the children's parents or classmates can watch.

"This program is a small start. We want to do it right," she said.

Just days into the program, school officials are already excited about its early successes.

Students can't stop smiling during their dance classes. Many pick up the moves within minutes.

That's not to say it was accepted without hesitation.

When KidZone program director Daryel Garrison recruited children for the program at Central Middle School, he ran into a brick wall with some boys. They wanted nothing to do with it.

But it didn't take long for them to relax. Some added in impromptu hip-hop moves as they waited for the next instructions.

"They were so disinterested when I was talking to them, and look at them now," he said. "They're laughing and bouncing their head to the foot moves now."

Garrison acknowledges that he had to offer a few incentives on the first day. Boys were told they couldn't play a pickup game of basketball if they didn't cooperate for at least one day. Dance moves would be good for their on-court footwork, Garrison reasoned.

The boys seemed more convinced that the newfound talents would be put to good use at an upcoming school dance.

Still, some were reluctant to touch each other's hands. Paula Kaltenbach, 11, cleverly avoided contact by hooking a rubber band around her and her partners' wrists. The tension held them together.

"I didn't want to touch him," she said about no boy in particular.

The after-school program already offers theater and other artistic programs, but keeping teens and preteens interested is Garrison's biggest challenge. He studied their faces last week and was hopeful that the lessons could capture and retain attention as they appeared to do in New York.

"You don't see any of the girls saying ‘I'm tired' or anything like that," Garrison said, noting smiles from even the most insecure children.

Though Harris doesn't teach children every day, he isn't surprised by the way they gleefully move to the music. He learned long ago that dancing transcends ages and status.

"You'll see a doctor dancing right next to a truck driver," Harris said. "When you're dancing, most people don't have a clue what you do for a living. They just know you're a dancer. You're a dancer, and you're part of that community as opposed to what you did before. ... the same thing with the kids. It doesn't matter what their background is."

Still, there is a lot to accomplish before school officials decide whether the program is a good fit.

For now, Harris will spend plenty of lesson time convincing children they won't get cooties from one another.

His job could prove more difficult with nervous 9-year-old Brock Evans, who doesn't mind expressing his feelings about dancing with girls:

"We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're all gonna die!"

About the program

-- Ballroom Dance Blast is modeled on the documentary film "Mad Hot Ballroom."

-- Students as young as elementary school age learn social interaction and etiquette along with dance steps.

-- The program in Kansas City, Kan., is starting with a middle school and two elementary schools.

-- Donations of money and resources will get Ballroom Dance Blast started; the district will decide later whether it continues.

To reach Dawn Bormann, call (816) 234-5992 or send e-mail to dbormann@kcstar.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Kansas City Star, Mo.

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Source: The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)

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