Meet the Team Behind: Dancing Classrooms

Dancing Classrooms uses the power of dance to help young people build confidence, respect, and teamwork. Through joyful movement and social-emotional learning, they're empowering students with skills that extend far beyond the dance floor. Learn more here!

How did Dancing Classrooms start?

The original Dancing Classrooms program was launched in 1994 by world-renowned ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine as a project of the American Ballroom Theater Company. What began as an introduction to ballroom dance for 5th graders in NYC has grown into a world-renowned organization with a national network of organizations and educators that bring the joy of social dances from around the globe to K-12 grade students and communities. With Dancing Classrooms, we are able to reach children in existing classroom settings and address fundamental issues of mutual respect and self-esteem – issues that social dance puts into practice. 

What is “social dancing”? 

Through the joyful art and practice of social dances, Dancing Classrooms cultivates engaged learners, collaborative leaders, and inclusive spaces. We provide schools with social-emotional learning opportunities through the practice of social dances. Social dances are collaborative and culturally rich dance forms that are practiced in duets or groups for celebrations, ceremonies, rituals, sport, exercise, or just fun. Social dances exist in all cultures and parts of the world and oftentimes will be influenced by multiple cultures. Any dance can be made “social” with intention, creativity, collaboration, and community in the Dancing Classroom.

What do your programs entail? 

During a Dancing Classrooms residency, our Teaching Artists celebrate the diversity of dance and create inclusive spaces for students of all backgrounds, abilities, and gender identities. Social Ballroom is our flagship ballroom program where students learn merengue, foxtrot, swing, salsa, and more. Rhythm and Stories allows students to celebrate their creativity through dance-making and teamwork. Sensory Steps is a program designed for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder that blends dance therapy with cultural learning. We have Social Dance Clubs, Family Workshops, and professional development classes, reaching people of all ages. 

How is social emotional learning involved? 

Our renowned program develops the best of what academics call Social Emotional Learning or SEL— life skills that help us develop into empathetic and compassionate human beings. By the end of our 10 week program,  95% of students see increased engagement and motivation, 89% feel an increase in self-discipline and focus, 93% strengthen their collaboration and teamwork skills, and 71% demonstrate greater social confidence. Participating in the arts for as little as 10 weeks has been shown to increase the resiliency and neural connectivity of the brain, making for increased self-awareness and better memory processing.