Students from Guy Benjamin, Julius E. Sprauve and Gifft Hill schools on St. John will be featured in a Dancing Classrooms pilot program coined ‘Mad Hot St. John’ that will introduce them to ballroom dancing. The program is a community project in collaboration with the Pond Bay Development and inspired by the 2004 documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom.” The concept utilizes a curriculum-based teaching approach to build social awareness, confidence and self-esteem in students.
The program kicks off at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Franklin Powell Park, Cruz Bay, St. John. It will feature internationally-known dance instructor and Dancing Classrooms founder Pierre Dulaine. On Friday evening, Sept. 11, the Get Down Gala event, hosted by The Westin Resort,will raise funds for the St. John Dance Scholarship. Festivities begin at 7 p.m. and there will be a $10 cover charge.
Spearheaded by professional dancer Jaycee Gossette and a team of resident dance instructors, the program will teach students the vocabulary of various contemporary social dances in a classroom setting.
The classes, which have been integrated into the Education Department’s and Gift Hill School’s physical education curriculums, will offer students ballroom dance lessons twice a week for 10 weeks. The lessons will include the meringue, fox-trot, rumba, Waltz, tango and swing. At the close of each course, students audition, and 12 of them will advance to participate in the competition. After the 10 weeks, each school in the program will participate in the scheduled Colors of the Rainbow Team Match, which will take place in December.