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“We all hear about great educational programs in a few school districts, and we wish that these were available to all students in every district. When you see the faces of students who are participating in excellent programs and you grasp the impact that these programs have, you just want to shout from the rooftop, “Do whatever it takes to give every student this gift of educational excellence!”

John Wilson, Head of the National Education Association and senior fellow at the Pearson Foundation, highlighted the impact and value of Dancing Classrooms in his February 2013 Edweek blog entry

Core Program

Why

We teach social dance to inspire young people to…

  • Venture outside their comfort zones, and rise to every occasion with curiosity and courage
  • Embrace their classmates as partners and learn to see eye-to-eye
  • Celebrate everyday victories as steps to extraordinary accomplishments
  • Stand a little taller and feel confident in their own shoes

Who

  • 4th, 5th, 7th or 8th grade students, regardless of background or ability
  • A Teaching Artist, carefully and systematically selected and trained in the Dulaine Method and the Dancing Classrooms Curriculum
  • An Educational Liaison assigned to manage the residency experience from A to Z including an Orientation meeting with staff and students to kick off the program and a Debrief meeting to wrap up

What

  • A ten week, 20-lesson in-school residency program
  • A diverse range of social dances—merengue, foxtrot, rumba, swing, tango, waltz, heel-toe polka, salsa and line dances—including the cultural history of each dance form
  • A curriculum connection assignment developed with the classroom teachers to support academic content areas
  • A video lesson, with active dialogue, exposing students to a variety of social dance forms through history
  • A buddy lesson where the Teaching Artist is joined by a professional dance partner to demonstrate all the dances for the students, and where the buddy offers feedback to the students to elevate their own dancing
  • A Culminating Event for the school community and families to celebrate the students social-emotional journey through writing and dance

When

  • 20 lessons, 2 times per week. Lessons on any given day must be scheduled consecutively. 2 class minimum. Maximum 30 students per class.
  • Residencies are scheduled during three semesters:
    • Fall – September to November/December
    • Winter – December/January to March
    • Spring – April to June

Where

  • In your school, during the school day
  • A clean, well-lit, un-trafficked space with a hard floor. A gym, all purpose room, cafeteria or auditorium stage is ideal.

How

 

Contact us to find out more information about booking a program.