Students swept up in dancing

Daniel Morillo has practiced his dance moves day in and day out for weeks.

If his dance partner isn't around, that's no big deal.

"I dance with my mother," said the 11-year-old, who has no time to waste as he works feverishly over the next few days, gearing up for the biggest dance competition of his young life.

"I'm pretty nervous. There will be a lot of couples," said Morillo, who along with his partner, America Espinoza, both sixth-graders at Vieau Elementary School, will dance the fox trot during the second annual Mad Hot Ballroom and Tap Competition.

The exhibition and competition will place more than 2,000 elementary and middle-school students in the spotlight at the Bradley Center on Saturday, as they glide gracefully through the fox trot, heat it up with the cha-cha and tap, sweat and swing.

It all began last year as a way to teach students the fundamentals of ballroom dance and tap, but the arts education program has become so popular it has expanded from its three initial pilot schools to 42.

"It's all been word of mouth," said Deborah Farris, executive director of Danceworks, which runs the program for public and private school students. "Word traveled fast."

The program has had a positive impact on participants and has led to fewer behavioral problems, fewer students skipping school and more students improving academically.

"All of the kids have raised their GPAs," said Melinda Wyatt Jansen, a counselor at Vieau. "These kids are very respectful with each other, and they are learning how to be boys and girls together in a good healthy way."

The program is modeled after the "Mad Hot Ballroom" documentary, which followed fifth-graders from three New York schools in the weeks leading up to their big championship competition, capturing the tense, nail-biting moments along the way.

That same atmosphere is building here, with students practicing hard, hoping they don't make a mistake on competition day.

"I'm nervous right now and afraid of messing up," said Maridel Morales, 11, who is dancing the cha-cha with her equally nervous partner, Jose Hernandez, 12.

"I've never danced in front of a lot of people. I'm afraid I will forget some of the steps," Hernandez said.

At a recent practice, the two watched their instructor, Christal Wagner, as she worked to fine-tune their moves to precision. "Your hand says, 'ha,' " explained Wagner, extending her right arm upward in one swift motion, before flicking her wrist. "You have to show that you are over the top. Be very forceful."

At the start of the 10-week program, students, most of whom have never taken to the dance floor, are divided into groups, with fourth- and fifth-grade students learning tap, and sixth-graders, ballroom dance.

"We felt that tap would introduce rhythm and simple dance technique and discipline that would prepare the students for ballroom, which adds on the component of dancing with a partner," Farris said.

The program is free to participants.

"The only cost is the cost of the teacher itself," Farris said. "If the school isn't capable of paying for it, we work really hard to raise the funds to do that."

MPS Superintendent William Andrekopoulos said he has heard only rave reviews from principals and teachers at schools where the program operates throughout the district.

"It's just been amazing, the positive impact this has had on young people," he said.