DANCE TEACHES KIDS RIGHT SOCIAL STEPS.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
For an hour every school week, nearly 1,000 fourth- and fifth-grade pupils in six West San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. elementary schools elementary school: see school. are not little boys and girls boys and girls mercurialisannua. anymore. They are 10- and 11-year-old ladies and gentlemen, getting a lesson in respect, trust and confidence as they dance across a hardwood hardwood: see wood. hardwood Timber obtained from broad-leaved, flower-bearing trees. Hardwood trees are deciduous trees, except in the warmest regions. gym floor under the watchful watch·ful adj. 1. Closely observant or alert; vigilant: kept a watchful eye on the clock. See Synonyms at aware, careful. 2. Archaic Not sleeping; awake. eye of professional dance instructors. Learning how to swing dance, fox trot fox trot n. 1. a. A ballroom dance in 4/4 time, encompassing a variety of slow and fast steps. b. The music for this dance. 2. A slow broken gait of a horse, between a trot and a walk. and tango, while discovering along the way that no, boys don't have cooties Cooties is a slang word in American English, used by children, referring to a fictional disease. Cooties are believed to be a highly contagious disease or condition, generally carried by members of the opposite gender. and girls don't bite. It's a program started in January by Gloria and Larry Weinstein of Woodland Hills, who are paying for it out of their own pockets. So far, it's cost them $40,000 in salaries for four professional dance instructors to spend 36 hours a week teaching at the six schools. The Weinsteins aren't wealthy people. Both are retired schoolteachers who worked long hours for many years -- Larry often at two jobs -- to support their own three kids and put something away for the future. Well, the future is here, and this is how the Weinsteins want to spend some of their retirement money after 58 years of marriage. They could have bought a new, luxury car or taken a cruise around the world with that $40,000. They certainly deserved it. But the way they see it, new cars lose that smell after awhile a·while adv. For a short time. Usage Note: Awhile, an adverb, is never preceded by a preposition such as for, but the two-word form a while may be preceded by a preposition. and get old. And cruises leave you with nothing but a drawer full of pictures and some memories. The Weinsteins wanted more. So late last year they walked into the office of Calabash calabash Tree (Crescentia cujete) of the trumpet-creeper family (Bignoniaceae) that grows in Central and South America, the West Indies, and extreme southern Florida. It is often grown as an ornamental. Street Elementary School Principal Susan Shaffer and got it. They had seen an inspirational in·spi·ra·tion·al adj. 1. Of or relating to inspiration. 2. Providing or intended to convey inspiration. 3. Resulting from inspiration. movie called "Mad Hot Ballroom" about some fifth-grade public school boys and girls in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood learning respect and trust as they were taught ballroom dancing in preparation to compete with kids from other schools. "We had nothing like that here, so I asked Susan if it would be OK if we started a ballroom dance ballroom dance European and American social dancing performed by couples. It includes standard dances such as the fox-trot, waltz, polka, tango, Charleston, jitterbug, and merengue. program at her school," Gloria said. "I knew the school district didn't have the money for it, but Larry and I did." The women had known each other since 2002, when Gloria showed up at Calabash one day and asked if the school could use some volunteer help teaching first- and second-graders to read. Shaffer jumped at the chance five years ago, and she wasn't about to let this offer get away, either. The one hour a week of dancing would count as a physical-education class that day for her fourth- and fifth-grade pupils. The principal knew these kids would be working up a sweat and learning a lot more than just ballroom dancing in that gym. "They were all shy and nervous at first, but pretty soon you could see them relaxing and having fun -- learning to trust and respect each other," Shaffer said Thursday, watching her students learn a new step. Dance instructor Julio Arroyo was teaching them the fox trot. "Show me you are confident, even if you're not," he shouted at the kids, trying to be heard above the music. It was at a principals meeting in February of the six elementary schools that feed into Hale Middle School that Shaffer mentioned the new ballroom dance program at her school. Did she think the Weinsteins would consider offering the program at their schools, too, asked the principals of Haynes, Lockhurst, Woodlake, Welby Way and Pomelo pomelo (pŏm`əlō'): see grapefruit. elementary schools. From 60 kids, the program jumped to nearly 1,000 kids overnight as the Weinsteins gulped and said sure, why not. "We had budgeted $25,000, but we blew by that," laughed Larry, who turned 80 a few weeks ago. His family and friends threw him a big birthday bash, and the highlight of the evening was six couples -- 10- and 11-year-old ladies and gentlemen from each of the six elementary schools -- swing dancing, fox trotting and dancing the tango for the birthday boy. The kids presented Larry and Gloria with a book filled with pictures and thank-you letters from every boy and girl who their generosity had turned into little ladies and gentlemen. "I'll always remember to approach a lady properly when I'm asking her to dance. Even more than the steps, I learned how to be proper with a lady," 11-year-old Sean Smith Sean Smith may refer to one of the following:
"Before we started dance classes, I was a little grossed out by dancing with a boy, but now I am OK with dancing with a guy," 11-year-old Sarah Block wrote. "Because of you, I won't be a stick in the mud when I get older," she added. And from 10-year-old Marissa Matich: "I'll always remember that time my partner's arm hit my face. It was so funny. "Even more than dance steps, I learned how polite and good dancers boys can be." There isn't a luxury car or a cruise that can beat that, Larry and Gloria say. The Weinsteins are in the process of setting up a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. , charitable account for anyone who might want to donate to help them fund -- and hopefully grow -- the ballroom dancing program in more Valley schools next year. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , if you're interested, you can call Shaffer at Calabash Street Elementary School at 818-224-4430. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com, 818-713-3749 WANT TO HELP? The Weinsteins are creating a nonprofit, charitable account for anyone who might want to donate to help them fund -- and hopefully expand -- the ballroom dancing program in more Valley schools next year. If you're interested, call Principal Susan Shaffer at Calabash Street Elementary School at 818-224-4430. CAPTION(S): 6 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Sean Franz dances with Kathy Mikhchi in a ballroom dancing class at Calabash Street Elementary in Woodland Hills. Gloria and Larry Weinstein of Woodland Hills are paying for the program. (2 -- 3 -- color) Students, above, participate in the ballroom dancing class at Calabash Street Elementary School on Thursday in Woodland Hills. Below, Gloria and Larry Weinstein applaud dancers. The Weinsteins used their retirement savings to start the dance program at several local schools. (4 -- 5 -- color) Gloria and Larry Weinstein dance among fourth- and fifth-graders at Calabash Street Elementary in Woodland Hills during the ballroom dancing class they helped create. At far right, Tommy Siounit and Cristine Nguyen practice a dance move. (6 -- color) Connor Martinez and Kaila Porch porch Roofed structure, usually open at front and sides, projecting from the face of a building and used to protect an entrance. If colonnaded, it may be called a portico. dance together as students look on during the dancing class at Calabash Street Elementary School. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer Box: WANT TO HELP? (see text) |
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