American Ballroom Theater Dancing Classrooms
New York City-based American Ballroom Theater’s (ABrT) Dancing Classrooms is the nonprofit organization that has been providing instruction in American-style ballroom dance to currently over 60 public schools in New York City. The program was introduced in two schools 10 years ago. In 10 weeks (20 one-hour sessions) the kids absorb a repertoire that includes the merengue, foxtrot, rumba, tango, swing and a couple of line dances thrown in just for fun.
The schools are then given the choice to compete. These competitions (quarterfinals, semifinals and final) are called Rainbow Team Matches. About 48 schools choose to compete and only nine (one representative from each borough) make it to the final competition. Each dance team is made up of five couples, one for each of the five dances, and one alternate couple who must know how to do every dance well in case a couple is absent.
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)