Dancers from
Brownsville ISD had a chance to swing their bodies not only to music but to
help
underprivileged
students from one of the poorest areas of the country get a new hold on their
futures.
For the
first time, Brownsville ISD held their Ballroom Mini Match with the non-profit
Dancing Thru Life volunteers on January 11, 2014 at the Veterans High School.
Faculty Members of Veterans
High School
and Dancing Thru Life hosted the Brownsville Ballroom Mini Match.
While the
evening offered a night of fun and dancing, the true focus was on over 400 students from
Brownsville
Independent School District. This unique
ballroom event was sold out two weeks prior with over 750 spectators.
Stephanie
Schlueter and Mark Adler are the founders of the non-profit Dancing Thru Life
and also owners of several Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Texas. This is their fifth year teaching Brownsville
ISD students the patience and dedication involved with ballroom dancing.
Stephanie
Schlueter Originally from Germany has been teaching children how to dance ever
since she was a teenager and shares a wild passion for dance. “There is no
other sport on the planet like it,” Schlueter said. “In ballroom dancing you
learn integrity,
etiquette, social skills and manners. It helps you on so many levels and it
truly instills a great amount
of confidence in children.” Ballroom
School Programs grow from two campuses and 40 students in Brownsville ISD to
the entire
district, with 46 campuses and over 1,000 children of all ages dancing and
participating in their
program.
Rebecca
Rendon, administrator of fine arts for Brownsville ISD, first got the idea of
creating a
ballroom program
after seeing a documentary about children learning life skills from dancing.
She
emphasized
that it’s not unlike other school programs, as students are required to have
passing
grades to
participate, and said that the program has been incredibly beneficial to
students’ wellbeing.
“We had no
idea the impact it was going to have at first,” Rendon said. “We started with
10 out 37
elementaries
in our first year of the ballroom program. Originally, we only worked with
fifth graders
and below
but after demand from the parents we opened it up to middle school and high
school
students.”
Through
dancing lessons three days a week, Schlueter and Adler said students learn important
social skills
while
participating in an activity that is healthy and extremely disciplined. They venture to
Brownsville
ISD generally with seven other volunteers.
“This
program is more than just dance lessons,” Schlueter said. “Dancing is something
they can
use to grow
and learn from and ultimately helps them in life.”
Brownsville
is a particularly poor area of Texas, with 98 percent of citizens classified as
economically
disadvantaged, Rendon said. Over 60 percent of students have never even been
out
of
Brownsville before.“You may
think it’s something very simple, but for them to a restaurant and order food
and learn about things
like gratuity and tax on a bill is a whole process,” Rendon said. During their
visits to
The
Woodlands, each child is given a small amount of money that they learn to
budget with,
providing
yet another learning aspect. “This has
really pushed these kids to pass,” Rendon said. “You don’t want to see kids on
the streets
looking for something to do and this is something that is really a big deal in
their lives.”
Stephanie
Schlueter and Mark Adler are hoping to make competitions like the one held on
Jan. 11th into an annual event as Dancing Thru
Life looks to get more members of the community involved and teaching
Brownsville students
when they visit The Woodlands. “We’re
looking for more people to see this program and open their heart to children
who cannot do what we do
every day,” Schlueter said. “I run dance studios and I do what I love, but if I
did not have people
that supported me I would not be where I am. Some of those kids can live the
same dream I am
living to do what they love and to feel like they never have to work a day in
their lives.”
In addition
to help these dancers; Fred Astaire Dance Studio The Woodlands and Sugar Land are
now selling
the Dancing thru Life 2014 calendar in the studios for only $49.99! All
proceeds will go
to
Dancingthrulife.org to help another child’s dream come true.
Mark Adler and
Stephanie Schlueter will also be hosting the Dancingthrulife first annual fundraiser
on Thursday July 31, 2014 at The Woodlands Fred Astaire Dance Studio! All proceeds will go to www.Dancingthrulife.org
More information about Dancing Thru Life can be found online at: www.dancingthrulife.org
Article by: Raquel Sarabia .Marketing
Director. Fred Astaire Dance Studios
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