Ballroom Madness 2012 - Images by Fabian Lewkowicz
Sixty talented 5th grade students from Six teams of ten students each from Edison, Franklin, John Muir, Pt. Dume, Roosevelt, and Webster Elementary Schools compete in the 3rd annual Ballroom MADNESS Elementary School Team Match at Santa Monica High School's Barnum Hall on Monday, January 23, 2012. The students competed in the meringue, foxtrot, rumba, tango, swing and waltz. Roosevelt Elementary school came in first place, Pt. Dume came in second place and Edison came in third place.
The students, who study the geography and cultures of the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Cuba, Eastern Europe and the U.S., write essays about their first impressions and finally, what they learned throughout the program, giving them an appreciation for a much larger world.
“I know how dance positively enriched my life and I wanted to offer children an opportunity to express their creativity in a setting that fosters respect, teamwork and accomplishment, ‘one step at a time’, said Jane Dorian, the group’s executive director and co-founder.” I was compelled to create Ballroom MADNESS when I observed a family at lunch—each member was plugged into some electronic device. I thought ‘why don’t they connect to each other?’
Dorian and co-founder Daniel Ponickly, created the arts education program two years ago from their shared passion for dance. Dorian, a founding member of Center Dance Arts at the L.A.’s Music Center, danced in the national company of “Hello Dolly” and numerous films and television shows. Ponickly taught dance in New York’s inner city public schools and was a Senior Teaching Artist with American Ballroom Theater’s “Dancing Classrooms Program,” the group profiled in the documentary, “Mad Hot Ballroom.”
“Our program is great for all students,” said Ponickly, “but it is especially gratifying when we can serve urban kids—teaching them social and partnership skills, while providing them with a positive alternative to gangs and street-life.”
The duo train a corps of dance teachers who work with the kids in the structure and familiar environment of their regular classroom during their school day. Twice a week in a one-hour session, the kids dance meringue, foxtrot, rumba, tango, swing and waltz. The students, who study the geography and cultures of the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Cuba, Eastern Europe and the U.S., write essays about their first impressions and finally, what they learned throughout the program, giving them an appreciation for a much larger world.
Ballroom MADNESS is a nonprofit organization that brings ballroom dance to under-served school children. A truly transformative experience, Ballroom MADNESS fosters respect and teamwork in classmates by teaching them to work together to build a solid foundation of trust and partnership. The program provides students with a creative and expressive artistic outlet within an environment that is safe and constructive, during school hours. Since its inception in 2007, more than 600 children in 12 Southern California schools have been inspired to be the best at something— they have learned they are important and that their actions matter.