Grade 5 Ballroom Dance

By the time they leave elementary school, every Gloucester fifth-grader knows how to cha-cha, merengue, waltz and perform other ballroom dances through a program that GEF has funded, almost since the very beginning of our existence.

Ballroom dance instruction does much more than teach the steps, however. Students learn how to cooperate with peers, respect their partners, and collaborate on a final production — the springtime tradition that is best known as the Mad Hot Ball.

The social skills that students learn are critical as they end their days as elementary students and prepare to enter the larger world of middle school.  Many students start off less than enthusiastic about the prospect of learning ballroom dancing—but by the time the Ball comes, they are eager and proud to show off their newfound skills (and outfits) as they end their elementary school careers with the final Parents’ Waltz.