Through the joyful art and practice of social dance, Dancing Classrooms teaches Social Emotional Learning SEL) skills, building the foundation for a lifetime of character and leadership.
The Dancing Classrooms residency is a semester-long course for elementary and middle school students and their classroom teachers. Twenty 50 minute lessons (twice a week for 10 weeks) are held at each partner school during the school day, to ensure full student participation and facilitate curriculum integration, with instruction provided by Heart of Dance teaching artists.
Through Covid and beyond, we have forged new school & senior community partnerships to deliver our programs in creative ways.
“I really appreciated the lessons on different values like empathy, respect and safe space. We’re working on emotional intelligence right now. It’s important to give names to those topics and talk about them openly.”
“Dancing Classrooms Home Edition was a creative way to promote mental wellness through physical activity during the pandemic. It was an exceptional, comprehensive program that aligned well with our mission to increase awareness of suicide prevention and support mental health and wellness.”
Reading, Writing, and Rumba
Students and teachers learn 6-7 social dances over the course of the semester, including the Merengue, Foxtrot, Rumba, Tango, Swing, Waltz, and Salsa (in middle school), as well as some line dances. History and culture of the dances and countries of origin are introduced. Our teaching artists collaborate with classroom teachers to integrate Dancing Classrooms with a wide range of standard educational subjects including language arts, math, social studies, geography, music, physical education, and visual arts.
Results
Dancing Classrooms fosters Social Emotional Learning (SEL) — life skills like teamwork, motivation, discipline, empathy, and respect. By teaching dances from around the world and exploring their history and cultures of origin, Heart of Dance helps to create global citizens. We’re also challenging stereotypes of ballroom dance by eliminating gender-specific language and traditional gender roles. This ultimately leads to improvements in:
Confidence
Conflict resolution skills
Academic achievement
Teamwork
Physical fitness
Personal growth
Gender respect and awareness
Understanding of social etiquette standards
Relationships with peers and adults
Colors of the Rainbow Team Match
At the end of each semester, up to 14 students from each of our partner schools take part in the Colors of the Rainbow Team Match, where they perform before a panel of professional dance judges. The Team Match brings together hundreds of children, families, and educators for a powerful shared experience of dance, music, personal growth, and community!
“I learned a lot and I respect
others more now that I’ve danced
with them.”
Sophie, 5th Grade
