Fifth graders at The Gordon School put on their dancing shoes
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Fifth graders at The Gordon School in East Providence are learning how to put their best foot forward, as they are participating in a 10-week ballroom dance program.
They gathered for a lesson Monday morning.
“We’re doing a lot of different kinds of dances, like the box step, the foxtrot, the rumba, and stuff like that,” Phoenyx Algava, 10, told NBC 10 News.
Algava also said “it’s pretty cool” they are getting the opportunity to learn new moves.
“I think it’s a good experience,” Algava said.
Classmates Charlotte O’Gorman, Esme Barnes Tejeda, Caden Clinton, and Henry Davian, shared similar sentiments.
O’Gorman said while “it can be quite scary” learning unfamiliar moves, she enjoys engaging with others.
Dayian feels the same.
“It’s really fun,” Dayian said. “My favorite part is the dance that we do at the end called, ‘Stomp.’”
Students are being led by Rodney Eric López. He works in the school’s admissions office, as well as serves as a teaching artist.
“I like learning from Mr. Rodney,” Algava said.
López, who is originally from New York, relocated to Rhode Island four years ago.
Before moving to the Ocean State, he was the executive director of “Dancing Classrooms,” serving thousands of students around the world for more than 25 years.
“I was really excited to bring my dance program here,” López said, noting that he rebranded the program and now calls it “ConfiDance.”
His wife, Dr. Noni Thomas López, who heads the school, along with several staff members, including Rebecca Garfield, Sophie Jackson, and Mimi Rotherman, joined in during the most recent lesson.
They partnered with students and aided López as he provided a cultural history of dances, including the tango, swing, merengue, and waltz.
López said students have been building social skills and a sense of community with their peers.
“Social dance promotes the ability to recognize that something that feels weird, awkward, and challenging, especially at this age group, can actually be accomplished,” López said.
The program recently returned to in-person after a two-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During that time, they held virtual lessons, as well as took classes outdoors with no contact.
But it’s back and better than ever, with students working together in full force.
“The fact that we spent the last two years being hypersensitive to distance, to touch, and to mask-wearing, makes this even more important,” López said.
“How do we learn how to be with each other in a common space? How do we learn to respect our own physical bodies, and the bodies of people next to us, in a way that’s compassionate and sensitive and respectful?” López added. “That’s something that social dance can do that really nothing else can do. It’s a unique artform because it requires two people to touch, be close to each other, and negotiate all the feelings that come up with that. It’s an especially important skill to have and an important experience for these young people to have.”
Geoff Griffin is the communications director at the school. He said students are not assigned traditional dancing parts by gender, which allows them to change partners and get to know all their classmates in an inclusive environment
“One thing that Rodney does really well is make sure that every child is working with many different kids, so they’re not paired up with one kid for the duration of the course or even the duration of the class,” Griffin said.
“It’s much more about the group working together to accomplish something, than it is about one-on-one dancing or connecting, which is fabulous,” he added.
López said that’s the whole point.
They focus on camaraderie, togetherness, as well as building both self-confidence and social confidence.
“When you have greater self-confidence and social confidence, in my opinion and in my experience, it builds a wonderful foundation for confidence in other areas of life,” López said. “So, at the end of the day, the dance steps are secondary. What lasts into the future is the embodied experience of confidence.”