Dancing through life

Dressed in their “Sunday best,” three sixth grade students from Hartford Avenue School perched on the edge of a sofa in the Pfister Lobby Bar – all with gold trophies in their laps.

“How did you get those?” I asked.

“For dancing!” They said in unison.

They were there with their teacher, Marti White, and the school nurse to perform salsa, tango and swing dancing that they learned through the Mad Hot Ballroom program, which teaches dance to MPS students. They perfomed earlier in the evening in the Pfister’s Grand Ballroom and will be a part of a city-wide competition at the BMO Harris in May.

“I was kind of nervous,” said Justin. “We were kinda bunched in and my foot accidentally hit someone else’s so I would give myself seven out of 10 stars when I was hoping for a 9 out of 10 at least.”

It’s about more than winning though, Ms. White reminds.

“Dancing enriches your learning in so many ways. And it provides exercise and ties in other important aspects like nutrition and taking interest in things,” she said.

The three kids nodded and then went back to gazing at their trophies.

Their future, like everyone’s, will be filled with many different dances – some graceful, some not – but they were lucky to have such valuable concepts presented to them at such a young age.

This latest Pfister interaction reminded me of a quote by the writer Robert Brault that’s been floating around Facebook lately.

“Taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s a cha-cha.”