Dancing Classrooms
Teaching Children to Take a
Bow®
DANCING CLASSROOMS,
American Ballroom Theater's
in-school artist residency
program for 4th, 5th, 8th,
and 12th grade students,
teaches the art and rich
heritage of American
ballroom dancing and, in the
process, builds students'
social awareness,
confidence, self-esteem,
team work and respect for
others.
Program Description
A DANCING CLASSROOMS
residency is presented over
ten-weeks, with two 40- to
45-minute sessions each week
and serves all children on
the selected grade level
including special needs
children; there are no
pre-requisites and previous
experience is never
necessary; all classes are
conducted in English; and
classroom teachers are
required to fully
participate in each class as
well as in planning
sessions. |
Photo by Phil
Martino |
Over the course of ten
weeks, two lessons a week,
students learn the following
through a dynamic, authentic
experience:
- a diverse range of social
ballroom dances that
collectively incorporate
Cuban, Latin American,
Northern European, and
African American cultural
influences-merengue, rumba,
fox trot, waltz, tango,
swing, heel-toe polka, and
line dances;
- the music and cultural
history of each dance form;
- the ability to dance in
harmony with a partner-which
assists students in
developing a responsive,
supportive relationship with
the opposite sex and with
each other;
- a strong sense of balance
and flexibility;
- increased sense of
physical and emotional
well-being through the joy
of movement;
- the ability to respect
differences in their peers
while simultaneously
achieving effective team
work.
DANCING CLASSROOMS'
curriculum-based syllabus is
presented in a meaningful,
accessible
manner and provides students
and educators alike with an
artist-based program that
meets New York State Arts,
Health, CDOS and Social
Studies Learning Standards:
- creating, performing and
participating in the arts;
- understanding the cultural
dimensions of dance;
- improving students'
self-perceptions as well as
their perceptions of others;
- establishing the necessary
knowledge and skills for
maintaining personal fitness
and health; |
 |
- using skills that promote
discipline, cooperation, and
respect for the diversity of
talent in themselves and
others;
- engaging in life-long
social skills and knowledge
that enhance a positive
self-esteem,
building character traits
essential for successful
life experiences;
- learning foundation skills
and competencies essential
for success in the
workplace;
- knowing the tools and
resources of the dance
artist;
- knowing the roots of
American culture, its
development from many
different traditions and the
ways many people from a
variety of groups and
backgrounds played a role in
creating it;
- understanding the
practices and traditions
that unite all Americans. |
Links:
CoDanceCo Staff and Teaching
Artists
Press Releases
CoDanceCo, Inc. is the
licensed artistic and
administrative home
for American Ballroom
Theater's
DANCING CLASSROOMS
in
Nassau and Suffolk County,
Long Island. As such,
CoDanceCo joins ABrT's
growing National Network of
DANCING CLASSROOMS sites:
Dallas/Ft. Worth, Newark/NJ,
Omaha/NE, Toronto/Canada,
Philadelphia/PA, among
others. |
Photo by Phil
Martino |
CoDanceCo's partnership with
American Ballroom Theater
is made possible by a
two-year grant from The
Dana Foundation.
The Dana Foundation
is a private philanthropy
with principal interests in
brain science, immunology,
and arts education. Dana has
extended its longtime
interest in education to
support innovative
professional development
programs leading to improved
teaching of the performing
arts in public schools.
Within this field, the
Foundation is interested
primarily in training for
in-school arts specialists
and professional artists who
teach students pre-K-12 in
the public schools.
CoDanceCo’s Board of
Trustees, Producing Director
Nancy Duncan, and Teaching
Artists extend their many,
many thanks to Carol Brown,
AIE Coordinator for Eastern
Suffolk BOCES
and North Babylon Union Free
School District’s Dr. Kim Löwenborg-Coyne/Director
of Music and Art Programs,
Principal Valerie
Jackson/Belmont Elementary
and Principal Norann
McManus/William E. DeLuca,
Jr. Elementary for their
vision and support of
DANCING CLASSROOMS,
to Dr. Löwenborg-Coyne and
Mrs. Jackson for hosting the
Fall 2007 Dancing
Classrooms teacher
training, and
to Belmont and DeLuca’s
classroom teachers,
custodians, and
administrative staff for all
they contributed during
CoDanceCo’s teacher artist
training and the piloting of
a DANCING CLASSROOMS
residency in the spring
2008. Their combined
efforts have been
instrumental in the
establishment of CoDanceCo
as a National Network site
for American Ballroom
Theater’s DANCING
CLASSROOMS.
® Dancing Classrooms is a
registered program of
American Ballroom Theater (ABrT). |
