News

November 27, 2008

NEWS FLASH! This just in...

DANCING CLASSROOMS FALL SEMI-FINALISTS READY TO BOOGIE!

The competition was fierce and fun this past Tuesday and Wednesday at Lord Dufferin Jr. P.S. as 144 Grade 4, 5 & 6 students from twelve Toronto Public & Catholic Elementary Schools danced their way into their audience’s hearts while seeking to become one of eight semi-finalists that will compete at the Colours of the Rainbow Team Match this coming Sunday, November 30th at the Palais Royale Ballroom. The Palais is located at 1601 Lakeshore Blvd. West in Toronto. The event runs from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The following schools are looking forward to a capacity filled Palais Royale Ballroom to cheer on their efforts for Gold, Silver and Bronze placements, as they move on to complete in the Annual Grand Trophy in June:

Westmount (Etobicoke)
Holy Child (Martin Grove/Dixon)  
Willow Park(Scarborough East)            
Elmlea (Rexdale/Islington) 
Pope Paul (Dufferin/St. Clair)
Seneca Hill (North York)
Queen Victoria (Lakeshore/Parkside)
St. Edmund Campion(Scarborough East)
 
The Team Matchs culminates the fall term for the academic year 2008/2009 that commenced on the week of September 12 for ran for ten full weeks.  Cost of admission is $10 per person. Children under 12 years enter free. All money collected goes directly to Dancing Classrooms program in Toronto.

At the qualifying semi-finals, parents, families and educators were simply mesmerized, awed and moved by the undeniable social grace and teamwork of these elegant and studied 10 – 12 year old dancers, many of whom only ten short weeks before were struggling with the thought having to participate in something as daunting as ballroom dance. Especially with having to enter into the required partner embrace to do so.

For the children, it was obvious that the spirit of the dance and the celebratory joy of such a forum far outweighed the competitive aspect, this truly exemplifies what Dancing Classrooms is all about. At the close of the event, they all partied most heartily on the dance floor happily switching partners, inviting the adults to join in and then shaking hands with each other in congratulations of a job well done!

As of December 2008, Dancing Classrooms is being offered in over 300 schools and to 35,000 children annually in eight cities:  New York City, Omaha, Fort Worth/Dallas, Newark, Toronto, Philadelphia, Long Island, and Fort Myers (Florida).  In January 2009 the program will begin in Baltimore, Cleveland, Geneva (Switzerland), Key West, and Lake Charles (Louisiana).

Join the Dance (Canada) (JTD) and Dancing Classrooms are endorsed by the Toronto Public and Catholic School Boards. In January, we will commence serving the elementary and middle Schools of the TDSB Model School Inner City Clusters that include Firgrove, George Webster, Bala, Kingsview, and Forest Manor. This will be conducted through a phased in process over this year and next.  We look forward to this latest partnership opportunity with our local school boards.  JTD hopes to serve over 4,000 students in 65 schools in 2008/2009.

JTD is a registered Canadian Charity. Please visit our Support Us page for more information on donations and sponsorship.

Vital community sponsorships and donations are needed to support our efforts to help transform lives and create a better future for our children!