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Thursday, July 29, 2010 |
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Koennecke fifth-graders hit the dance floor
Published March 9, 2010
The fifth-graders at Koennecke Elementary have been dancing in circles trying to find the best in the class.
The students have been vying for the titles of best all-around dancer, and best in swing, waltz and tango since they started ballroom dance lessons at the beginning of January.
Technology teacher Pam Acker, along with the other specials team members, have taken it upon themselves to teach the children how to properly cut a rug and the manners necessary to make their mark on the floor.
“We do it to teach the kids etiquette and respect for others, teach them different cultures — we teach them about the different countries these come from — and it’s also good cardio and exercise for the kids,” she said. “Socially, it will help them when they go to dances in high school and college or weddings, things like that.”
The specials teams members got together five years ago and applied for a grant from the Seguin Education Foundation to put a little “swing” into their students’ steps, Acker said.
“This is our fourth year to do ballroom dancing. We were able to have a professional come four years ago and teach the kids and we recorded her so we could teach it the years after that,” she said. “We used it to study her moves in case we forgot and we have had to use it, but we have gotten pretty good.”
The instruction starts right after Christmas break and continues every Friday for nine weeks, Acker said.
Some fifth-graders worry they may catch cooties from other boys and girls but the special teams work with the young dancers to overcome this fear.
“We do little practices like touch hands, hold hands, stare into each others eyes, just little drills before we get started,” Acker said. “We just tell them it’s something we are doing, you need to get over it and come over to the other side and have fun. And they do and they just have a blast with it.”
While in the classroom some of the students may act like it’s more of a chore to learn the dance moves, Principal Yomeida Guerra said, but in other settings they tell a different story.
“They act like ‘oh no, ballroom dancing,’ and then in the cafeteria you hear the real truth,” she said. “They love it. They know when they reach the fifth grade they get to do ballroom dancing and they start getting giddy about it. They are very excited.”
To take their skills to the highest level the students have been participating in a dance-off to seek the top honors.
The dancers are watched by their teachers and judged on how well they know the steps they were taught, Acker said.
Through a couple of competitions the students were narrowed down to the top 20 dancers/10 pairs to compete in the semi-finals which were held on Friday.
After showing off their talents in swing dancing, waltzing and tango, Acker named the students and in no particular order Acker announced students Zachary Hostetter and Hailey Tovar, Garrison Ledbetter and Sara Sanchez, Luis Matamoros and Hailey Stahl, and Juwuan Smith and Georgia Frazier as the finalists to compete in the title of the best on Thursday.
Jumping up from a sitting position each pair was greeted with cheers and congratulations from their peers and family members.
“When we got called at the end I was like ‘woo,’” Sara said.
Agreeing on almost everything, the finalists said they all enjoyed learning the dance moves, nobody practiced at home, that the tango was the hardest and they would all do it again.
“I’m not really a dancing guy, I like video games,” Luis said.
While the moves may have been difficult, some found others problems.
“The hardest part was getting him (Garrison) to look at me, he kept looking everywhere else,” Sara said with a laugh.
Guerra pointed out on Friday. during the judges’ deliberations. how much pride these youngsters have taken in themselves as a part of the competition.
“If you notice our semi-finalists look really nice,” she said. “They have taken a lot of preparation into what they look like today.”
The top eight dancers advance to the finals to be held Thursday at 2:15 p.m. and will be watched from outside judges to give a non-biased opinion, Acker said.
“After the top four couples were selected we are going to bring in outside judges — Jeff Koehler, school board member; Amanda Gold, our initial instructor; and then Sue Humphries, a retired school teacher who came and taught our fourth graders the folk dancing,” Acker said. “Those judges will pick a champion — a couple who does all the dances well — and awarded the best waltz, tango and swing, that way everyone gets a title and walks away with something.”
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