Dancing Classrooms Celebrates its Next Steps at the 2020 Mad Hot Ball, April 1 NYC

Dancing Classrooms Celebrates its Next Steps at the 2020 Mad Hot Ball

Dancing Classrooms, a New York-based dance and social-emotional learning organization with 16 affiliates across the globe, is proud to announce its 2020 Mad Hot Ball Gala, to be held at The Pierre Hotel in New York on April 1. Opportunities to sponsor the event, as well as Dancing Classrooms’ yearlong programs are available.

Dancing Classrooms cultivates social emotional skills in children through the art and practice of social dance. The program has helped to build the foundation for a lifetime of character and leadership for thousands of students. DC was founded 26 years ago by visionary ballroom dance legend Pierre Dulaine, who invented the Dulaine Method, a framework that guides DC’s curricula, pedagogy, and rigorous Teaching Artists training modules and is transferable to other disciplines. You may recognize Pierre, his story and the organization from the acclaimed documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom” and the feature film “Take the Lead,” in which he was portrayed by Antonio Banderas.

Dancing Classrooms programs include: 10-week, school-based residencies for 4^th, 5^th, 7^th and 8^th graders; the Weekend Academy, a series of advanced weekend dance classes for students; the Youth Dance Company, an audition-based, semi-professional dance company; and the Colors of the Rainbow Team Match, in which select student teams compete with other young dancers from schools across the city (the exciting Grand Final is free and open to the public). All of these programs and events are available for corporate and individual sponsorships that will help Dancing Classrooms further their reach and deepen their impact. To see DC in action, watch this video — https://vimeo.com/331588305.

Over its history, Dancing Classrooms has engaged more than 600,0000 children worldwide through the power of social dance. In NYC, Dancing Classrooms works in schools in all five boroughs, engaging students that represent the demographics of the city – 13.2 percent of students are English Language Learners, 20.2 percent are students with disabilities and 72.8 percent are economically disadvantaged. Racially, NYC public school students are 40.6 percent Hispanic, 25.5 percent black, 16.2 percent Asian, and 15.1percent white (NYC Department of Education, https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/reports/doe-data-at-a-glance).

An independent, two-year evaluation found that Dancing Classrooms residency school programs have a pronounced effect not just on dance skills, but on kinesthetic and cognitive development, and social-emotional learning. Your sponsorship of our programs and/or ticket/table purchase at our April 1, 2020 fundraising gala would have a direct and powerful effect on the lives of students — many of whom are not receiving the social-emotional learning, physical movement, or other creative opportunities they desperately need to thrive in school and beyond.

Dancing Classrooms programs are taught with a progressive-minded, inclusive approach to ballroom dance that embraces every student’s identity and builds on their abilities. Boys and girls have opportunities to learn either the “gentleman” or the “lady” role and often dance together in same-sex pairs. Since 2007 the organization has used gender-inclusive language and replaced the traditional technique of “leading and following” with the concept of “teamwork” – children learning steps and working together respectfully as teams of two in order to accomplish shared goals. Dancing Classrooms also provides a unique medium for special education students, thanks to its focused, consistent and active curriculum. Teaching Artists skillfully weave students with wheelchairs and other disabilities into dance lessons with general education students and the results are impressive. Teachers, parents, and physical and occupational therapists are amazed by the outcomes.

That’s where the black-tie gala comes in. It’s a celebration of Dancing Classrooms’ current work and vision for the future. The evening includes cocktails, dinner and dancing, live music by the Paul Errico Orchestra, and a special performance by the Dancing Classrooms Youth Dance Company and 5^thgrade students from their core residency program. A live, “mission-focused” auction will be led by acclaimed auctioneer Kathleen Guzman, Managing Director of Heritage Auctions and Antiques Roadshow Expert. Sponsorship opportunities and tickets can be purchased at https://secure.givelively.org/event/dancing-classrooms-inc/dancing-classrooms-2020-mad-hot-ball-benefit-gala.

The Dancing Classrooms, Inc. Board of Trustees will confer its first Alumni Recipient Award to Zikomo Barr, Leadership Coordinator, Pace University; Humanitarian Award to New York Junior League, and Champion for Social Dance to Jill Sternheimer, Director of Public Programming, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

“Our 2020 Mad Hot Ball will be a galvanizing and multi-generational event, bringing together Dancing Classrooms alumni, current students, longtime supporters and Illuminati of the ballroom world to advocate for a more inclusive, creative, holistic, and relevant education that includes dance for every child,” says Nancy Kleaver, Executive Director of Dancing Classrooms. The new executive director of DC brings 20 years’ experience tackling inequities in the arts and education, including, most recently, as Senior Director of Education & Community Engagement at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and a track record of fearlessly leading organizations through times of growth and change — a background that positions her to take DC to the next level of sustainability and growth.

• $50 can underwrite the supplies needed for a 10-week school residency.
• $100 can provide one Dancing Classrooms session for a class of students.
• $250 can support a team of 12 dancers from a Dancing Classrooms residency to participate in the Colors of the Rainbow Team Match competition.
• $500 can provide an engaging social dance workshop for Dancing Classrooms parents and the whole school community.
• $1,000 can support 10 sessions of a Dancing Classrooms course for 30 students.
• $2,500 can underwrite the full Dancing Classrooms residency experience over 10 weeks for a class of up to 30 students.
• $5,000 can underwrite the training of 12 new Dancing Classrooms Teaching Artists
• $11,000 can provide a Dancing Classrooms residency, which includes 20 hours of instruction, to an entire grade of up to 150 students.

To inquire about these sponsorship opportunities, purchase tables or tickets, and discuss other ways to support Dancing Classrooms, please contact Nancy Kleaver, Executive Director at nkleaver@dancingclassrooms.org or 212-244-9224, ext 102.

Sarah Billings Wheeler