Dancing Classrooms

Phillip Hobbs, a fifth-grader at Bonita Springs Elementary School, did something unusual in the outfield during Little League practice.The tango.

Gabrielle Wilkinson, 11, danced the rumba beside her mother at a Publix checkout lane.

Eric Ramirez, 11, now has a habit of standing by his desk, shaking his hips and dancing in a circle.

"What are you doing?" asked his fifth-grade teacher, Kim VanPelt-Provost, trying to suppress a grin. "I'm dancing," he replied.

The students were part of an international program called Dancing Classrooms, during which 580 Lee County fifth-graders at seven schools learned for 10 weeks to twirl, dip, swing, curtsy and take a bow. And somewhere between the beats of the music and the challenging choreography, they learned something even more important." They have higher self-esteem, more confidence and there are less behavioral problems," said Gina Lombardo, director of programs at the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, which sponsors the program.

 "If I won the lottery I'd fund every fifth-grade class in the county." Now in its fourth year, the program costs $5,000-$10,000 per school. The foundation, in partnership with the Lee County School District, is researching its effectiveness and will release its findings this fall. But researchers at the University of Texas have already found the dancing program creates overall school success. In a study of nine fifth-grade classes in two northern Texas school districts, Larry Nelson of the University of Texas at Arlington found those who participated in Dancing Classrooms' had more self-confidence, got along with peers from different backgrounds, developed mutual respect and learned teamwork. 

"Dancing Classrooms brings all students together on an even playing field, or in this case, a dance floor, to demonstrate that everyone should be valued for who they are," according to the study.

The News-Press followed students from Bonita Springs Elementary School for three months to see the program's impact.

The first dance

At the first dance class back in January, Gabrielle really didn't want to touch any boys. "I think they have cooties," said Gabrielle, who at 5 feet, 5 inches, stands a head taller than most of them. The feeling was mutual. Phillip, 10, didn't care much for girls. Florineida Cano, 11, didn't feel comfortable dancing with anyone. New to the school, she was very shy. It was a whole new experience. These fifth-graders had just 20 lessons to master the merengue, tango, rumba, fox trot, swing and the heel-toe polka. Anthony Tineo, 25, a dance professional and classroom teaching artist from Fort Myers, had to turn these students into ladies, gentlemen -- and ballroom dancers. Just 12 of the group of 66 would be chosen to represent Bonita Springs Elementary against six other schools.

Touching one another was the first step. In a circle, many of the girls loomed over the boys. As they were matched up, some boys and girls pulled their long sleeves over their hands so they wouldn't touch skin. Other boys held their hands just above the girls' shoulders. Clammy hands. Giggles. Uncomfortable glances."Ladies, don't have an 'I'd like to be somewhere else look on your face,'" Tineo said. 

In the groove

One month into it, loud music pulsated through the school cafeteria as the class learned the fox trot. "You give me fever," crooned Peggy Lee from the speakers. Phillip caught that fever, even practicing at home with his third-grade sister. Gabrielle danced with a big smile that spread across her braces. Maybe cooties weren't so bad, she thought. Florineida started to make friends. Now, they were all vying for that spot in the top 12.Marvilla Marzan, a teaching artist from Lehigh Acres who was working with Lehigh and Colonial elementary schools, joined Tineo to teach the tango.In the tango position, Tineo reminded students to keep their arms up high and "crisp" like "chicken wings. "The pairs of students moved across the floor spelling out T-A-N-G-O. The dance requires the girl to lean into her partner as he bends backward. Girls covered their mouths and giggled. "Body language is important," Tineo said while dancing with Marzan. "I'm respectfully looking at her. Not creepy looking. No creepy."

Dancing dozen

Just a few weeks to go and the kids were nervous. It was time to pick those 12.Family, friends and other classmates watched as they performed all six dances with wild applause before filing back to their classrooms. Tineo, Assistant Principal Jamie Browder and drama teacher Jeanne Snedeker visited each class and plucked the finalists from their seats: Phillip, Gabrielle and Florineida were among them. They had 15 days to perfect their dances before the competition.They practiced almost every day after school at school -- and at home. "The songs are in my head," said Florineida, who rushed to finish homework so she could work on her steps. "So I can dance anywhere."Tineo chose Florineida and her partner Tommy Aguilar as team captains. She learned to look straight into his eyes when they danced."I'm shy," she said. "Dancing makes me less shy."Philip likes girls a lot more, no matter how tall they are."Dancing is cool," he said. "A lot of sports people dance. Like on 'Dancing with the Stars,'" referring to the popular ABC reality TV show. Gone were the clammy hands and apprehension. Bonita Springs Elementary had a fully engaged dance team. 

The competition

On April 2, the "gentlemen" from Bonita Springs escorted their "ladies" into a room on the third floor of the Miromar Design Center in Estero.The girls wore black and white floral dresses with their hair pulled back into buns. The boys wore black suits with vests, adorned with bright green mum corsages. They traded in their sneakers for shiny black shoes while the girls wore 1-inch heels. They were surrounded by fifth-graders from six elementary schools looking as equally polished and pretty. 

Rodney Lopez, the emcee and one of the teachers featured in "Mad, Hot, Ballroom," a popular documentary following Dancing Classrooms students in New York City, gave all the students a pep talk. "Are you ready to shake what your mama gave you?" he asked the dancers. Each school had its own color and cheering section. Florineida carried the green banner for Bonita Springs Elementary as the team swept onto the large polished dance floor, in front of hundreds of applauding fans. The competition was simple, Lopez told the crowd. Each pair would dance once. They would also choose a wild card dance. Three judges -- Lee Circuit Judge Hugh Starnes, Elections Supervisor Sharon Harrington and Kathy Sturgis, a state workers compensation judge --would tally the scores. Only one would get the gold.

Showtime

Gabrielle and partner Lautaro Garcia, 10, were first, dancing the merengue with six other couples. From the sidelines, classmate Marissa Pacheco pulled up her lips to remind Gabrielle to smile. She responded with one that lit up the room. Isabella Wilkinson, 13, felt a pang of jealousy watching younger sister Gabrielle. She was on the same dance floor three years ago. "It taught me so many life skills," she said. "I miss it. I wish I was out there."

Bonita team members Maggie Weeks and Kevin Yanez dazzled the crowd with the rumba. Their arms were crisp and their shoulders pulled back. Liz Weeks watched her daughter and wiped away a tear." I feel proud," she said. "Really proud." Bobby Darin's song "Beyond The Sea" filled the room as Phillip and Marissa danced the fox trot as their wild card." Most of these kids have been together since kindergarten," said Marissa's mother, Amy Pacheco. "Seeing them do something as exciting as this is overwhelming." 

At the end of the hourlong competition, Lopez quieted the crowd. The results were in. The 12 Bonita Springs dancers held hands tightly. The winners were announced: Lehigh Elementary captured the gold. As the crowd roared, the tears fell. Florineida, always just one step outside, was pulled in to the circle of girl dancers. Bonita didn't go home empty-handed. They got silver, along with J. Colin English, Edgewood Academy. Bronze went to Colonial, Spring Creek and Tice elementary schools.

"It was exciting," Maggie said as she wiped her eyes. "We did our best."

The team did its best again Thursday in front of its school. Gabrielle changed her mind about who the real winners were at the competition. "I felt like a princess, like ruler of the world," she said. "We were all winners. We won respect for ourselves and each other. We won confidence. We learned how to let loose and have fun."

ABOUT DANCING CLASSROOMS

An international program called Dancing Classrooms shimmied into Lee County Public Schools. It's a 10-week, 20-lesson program that aims to build self-esteem through ballroom dancing. Seven elementary schools participated this year: Bonita Springs, Edgewood Academy, J. Colin English, Tice, Colonial, Spring Creek and Lehigh Elementary schools. The schools were selected based on their lower-income status. None of the more than 2,000 fifth-graders that has taken the ballroom dancing classes would have learned the tango or the fox trot if Margaret Antonier, president and CEO of Miromar Development Corp., hadn't watched "Mad, Hot, Ballroom," a documentary about Dancing Classrooms. In 2008, she approached Marshall Bower, president of the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, and offered to pay for five Dancing Classrooms' schools. It costs about $5,000 to $10,000 per school depending on enrollment. Antonier has continued to pay for those five Dancing Classrooms' schools, while the foundation sponsored two additional schools this year. Dancing Classrooms was founded by Pierre Dulaine in New York City and launched in 1994 as a not-for-profit project of the American Ballroom Theater Company. To learn more about Dancing Classrooms locally or donate to the program contact Marshall Bower, president of the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools at 337-0433 or marshall@leeschoolfoundation.org.

'MAD, HOT, BALLROOM'

Many people refer to "Mad, Hot, Ballroom," when they talk about Dancing Classrooms. The successful 2005 documentary followed fourth- and fifth-graders in different parts of New York City as they learned to ballroom dance. Directed by Marilyn Agrelo, the film alternates between three public schools participating in Dancing Classrooms. The film culminates in an emotional competition for the first-place trophy. Rodney Lopez was in the documentary as himself, a dance instructor at P.S. 115 in Washington Heights. That school, which had the fewest resources and the most at-risk kids, had riches in talent. Lopez flew in from New York City to Fort Myers last week to emcee the Dancing Classrooms competition at the Miromar Design Center in Estero. He's just as committed to the Dancing Classrooms mission as he was during the filming of the documentary.

 "All you have to do is see it to be sold on it," he said. "It's the culmination of an incredible journey. They go from being boys and girls to being ladies and gentlemen."

Watching the students' transformation keeps him hooked, he said. "What's happening is magic," he said. "They go from a place of resistance and fear to confidence in themselves." The effects of the program are far-reaching, he said. "Dancing is the excuse; it's the carrot," Lopez said. "But the real gift is the social skills and respect for themselves and each other that they gain long after they have forgotten the fox trot and the swing."

HOW STUDENTS THANKED THEIR DANCE TEACHER

Bonita Springs Elementary fifth-graders wrote thank-you cards to their ballroom dancing teacher, Anthony Tineo. Here are excerpts: 

"Thank you for teaching us ballroom. I learned a lot of things. But my favorite thing was learning to dance. I also learned about respect for the boys I danced with."-- Gabrielle Wilkinson

"I love dance and when you danced with Ms. Marvilla it was like watching a prince and princess dancing at a ball or at a fancy party."-- Yessica Ventura

"I've had a wonderful experience. I wish you were here for 50 lessons. I've learned new dancing. Dance is in my blood."-- Yeraldy Garcia

"You bring class and elegance to an ordinary school."-- Paloma Ulloa