Helps them stay active, and not just be with schoolwork and video games
As a result of school closings due to the coronavirus pandemic, since the last week of April, fifth and sixth grade children in schools in various Los Angeles school districts began taking classes on-line ballroom dance.
"Because the students have been isolated, we transitioned to a distance learning program," says Brad Gluckstein, founder and president of Conga Kids, the nonprofit that teaches ballroom dance classes to school children. Los Angeles County Public Schools.
He says that the idea of teaching these classes online was born after asking himself how to respond to educational needs during the pandemic, when his program closed and he could not teach in schools.
"We responded quickly with our teachers, who from the courtyards and living rooms of their homes created content to support students who have been isolated without an arts curriculum."
Explain that through videos, a teacher shows the dance. "The student follows it, can do it in front of a mirror, and learns the steps without having contact with another partner."
The also founder of the Conga Room in Los Angeles, says he hopes that by summer, they can have a digital platform that allows live classes between teachers and students.
Conga Kids dance classes are estimated to benefit 10,000 fifth and sixth grade students, ages 10-11, in more than 100 schools in twelve school districts throughout Los Angeles County.
Before COVID-19 appeared, Conga Kids taught five types of couple dance in person: salsa, meringue, swing, tango and foxtrot. However, the online curriculum was modified to include African rhythms like hip hop, cha cha, and other active dances.
To this program of ballroom dance classes on-linethey have called him Social Dance for Social Distance. It consists of an interactive web series of ten ballroom dance lessons, which is performed in pairs, but to maintain social distance, they were designed to be danced without the need for a partner.
Lessons, each lasting 40 minutes, include information on history, geography, and live music performances.
Electronic classes began April 21 for current Conga Kids students, and will last the entire school year. But throughout the month of May, Conga Kids will feature free content on their YouTube page.
Jonah, son of Brad, the founder of Conga Kids, who is in second grade and has been dancing since he was two or three years old, says he really liked the first episode of Conga Kids.
"The teachers are doing a good job, and I like the classes. on-line because you can practice and do it better and better ”, says the boy.
Fathers and sons
Gabriel Álvarez, a father of a family, whose son has taken dance classes at school, claims that these Dance classes come at a time when children need movement, staying active and clearing their minds.
“All day they are at home, entertained with video games. So these classes mostly help children like my son Aiden who is a little shy. ”
Aiden Álvarez was already taking Conga Kids classes at his Community Magnet school in Los Angeles. Digital dance teaching during quarantine seemed fun, but also challenging, because – he says – nobody can correct them if they do something wrong.
"Maybe later, that can be done, but I'm surprised with the dance class on-line, and I feel that it is going to be something very good for us ”.
Stephanie Sena, mother of Gabriela Gutiérrez, a fifth grade student at Community Magnet School, is grateful for the opportunity for children to receive dance classes online.
"It helps them stay motivated, not just doing homework."
The first episode dedicated to salsa was really educational because it shows the cultural background of this type of dance, he says.
Stephanie hopes that the classes will also help the children physically and mentally so that they don't get bored at home, and so they don't gain weight due to the lack of activity.
Gabriela, her daughter, misses dancing with her classmates at school. "Online classes are difficult, but I like challenges, and I know I can beat them with practice."
More plans
For the 2020-21 school year and with the support of various districts, Conga Kids plans to develop an alternative ballroom dance curriculum that does not require partner dancing.
Conga Kids is an organization that primarily serves Latinos and African Americans living in historically disadvantaged communities with little access to the arts. School districts that participate in its dance programs include Los Angeles, Long Beach, Lynwood, Pomona. Mountain View, El Monte, Hacienda La Puente and Baldwin Park, as well as charter schools.
Conga Kids is the lucrative part of the famous Conga Room Ballroom on LA Live.
