Using Character Traits in Ballroom Dancing
Teaching ballroom dance to elementary kids can be challenging, amusing, and most importantly rewarding. I spend about an hour a month adding to my classroom community by teaching ballroom dance to my current fifth graders at Ellisville Elementary. Throughout the year, students learn the following dances: Swing, Rumba, Waltz, Tango, Cha-Cha, and the Fox Trot. Not only do they learn the movement of the dances, but they learn about the ethnic values each dance conveys. This ensures that each student comes away with a better understanding of ethnic differences. The other lesson to be learned involves character. After being taught their dancing skills, my students can relate any character trait to ballroom dance. For example, the kids would tell you that in order to be good at ballroom dancing you have to be honest. However, being honest in a nice way (telling your partner that they are using the wrong feet nicely) is always a best practice. In fact, ballroom dancing has become so popular within my classroom, we have decided to open it up to the whole school. Once a week another class will come into my classroom, and my fifth graders then teach them how to dance the Swing. They start out by welcoming them in, and continue by telling them how involved good character is in the dancing process. It is rewarding to see my students teaching other students about the impact ballroom dance has had in their lives, and then to share that gift with other children is priceless.