HAVING A BALL SIXTH-GRADERS LEARN STEPS TO BECOME CLASSY DANCERS.Byline: KAREN MAESHIROStaff Writer PALMDALE - Inspired by the TV hit "Dancing with the Stars Dancing with the Stars is the name for a number of international television series based on the format of the British series Strictly Come Dancing. Nevertheless, not all the international versions share this title. " and the popular documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. ," sixth-graders in three Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley school districts are learning how to salsa, rumba, tango, 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 swing. Several hundred pint-sized Astaires and Rogerses began a 10-week ballroom-dancing program in January at one school in the Keppel Union School District, two in the Palmdale district, and six in the Westside district. "They have progressed leaps and bounds," said Linda Chesnutt, a retired federal program analyst and ballroom dancer for 15 years who gives the students tips on styling and technique. "The kids started off all left feet. They now have a left foot and a right foot." Two weeks ago, dance teams of 16 students and alternates were selected from each school to compete in a quarterfinal quar·ter·fi·nal adj. Of or relating to one of four competitions in a tournament, whose winners go on to play in semifinal competitions. n. 1. quarterfinals A quarterfinal round. 2. A quarterfinal match. contest that will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Palmdale Senior Center. Admission is $1. The winners will advance to the "Mad Hot Ballroom" finals at the third annual High Desert DanceSport Challenge dance competition March 23 to 25 at the Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. gymnasium gymnasium In Germany, a state-maintained secondary school that prepares pupils for higher academic education. This type of nine-year school originated in Strasbourg in 1537. . Brian Iguaran, 11, is among about 400 students in the Westside Union School District who are in the program. He said his favorite dances are the East Coast swing, salsa and rumba "because I'm very good at them." "I felt like there's something else to do in life other than sports. I felt like coming out here and learning the dances," said Brian, who acknowledged that he also hopes to meet girls at the lessons. The program is modeled after the 2005 documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom," about New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. public school fifth-graders who learn ballroom dancing and compete citywide, said Lisa Sandoval, a former board member of the U.S. Amateur Ballroom Association and an organizer of the Antelope Valley program. "They practice two to three times a week. Some of them are after school, some of them during P.E., some of them are doing it at recess, kind of like the movie," said Sandoval, a speech pathologist pa·thol·o·gist n. A specialist in pathology who practices chiefly in the laboratory as a consultant to clinical colleagues. Pathologist with offices in Palmdale and Northridge. A 20-year ballroom dancer, Sandoval found teachers willing to learn the dances and teach the students. An instructor gave them a crash course over two Saturdays in early January. At an after-school practice last week at Esperanza School, second-grade teacher and ballroom dancer of two years Janet Diaz guided youth through some salsa line dance steps. "Look at where my foot is," Diaz said as she lifted her cream-colored slacks. "Locking step, pivot." Then Diaz turned on the music, the beat-throbbing "Pon de Replay" by R&B singer Rihanna, and the students proceeded to sway their hands above their heads, swivel their hips and clap their hands. Next up was the fox trot to the silky silky female spirit who does household chores. [Br. Folklore: Briggs, 364–365] See : Domesticity strains of "Come Fly with Me" by crooner Michael Buble. The students paired off, some girls towering over the boys. While some moved stiffly and cast their eyes down to their feet, others showed grace and a little panache. Diaz said her greatest fear was that not enough boys would enroll. "Although we have more girls than boys, the boys just love it. They ask more questions than the girls. When I ask, 'Who needs help?' the boys are the first to say, 'I do.' I have to go down the whole line of boys because they want instruction," Diaz said. "They want to be on the team. This is the arts. This is one opportunity where they get to express themselves, and they really like it," Diaz added. Besides dance, the students learned about old-school etiquette etiquette, name for the codes of rules governing social or diplomatic intercourse. These codes vary from the more or less flexible laws of social usage (differing according to local customs or taboos) to the rigid conventions of court and military circles, and they and manners: Never turn someone down, where to properly place hands when dancing. "I have never seen so many little boys want to learn to dance. I'm tickled pink Inside TV Land: Tickled Pink, an hour-long special which aired multiple times during July, 2006, chronicled television shows that homosexuals have identified with over the years. . It's an introduction to some of the social graces," Chesnutt said. Sandoval said she cried at the team selection judging two weeks ago. "I saw kids loving dance, and parents looking and being proud of them," she said. "They are learning social skills, walking girls, offering a hand out, being polite to each other, all of them standing up straight." karen.maeshiro@dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 If you go The dance teams quarterfinal contest will be held 6-8 p.m. Saturday at the Palmdale Senior Center. Admission is $1. Winners will advance to the "Mad Hot Ballroom" finals at the third annual High Desert DanceSport Challenge dance competition March 23 to 25 at Antelope Valley College's gymnasium. For more information and times, visit www.highdesertchallenge.com. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2) Esperanza School sixth-graders Allison Jackson, 12, left, and Andrew Ledezman, 11, attempt a spin as they practice ballroom dancing. Above, Allison Houston, 11, and Shane Williams This article is about the Welsh rugby player. For the American actress, see Shanésia Davis-Williams. Shane Mark Williams (born 26 February 1977 in Swansea) is a Welsh rugby union footballer who plays as a winger for the Ospreys club and Wales but who can , 13, concentrate on getting their steps just right. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer Box: If you go (see text) |
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