Valley Stream students dance to impress

Fourth-grade students showed off the dances they learned on March 19.

Janette Pellegrini/Herald

Fourth-grade students showed off the dances they learned on March 19.

Janette Pellegrini/Herald

After the performance, students and their parents got to share a dance including Ahmya and Tony McMillan.

Janette Pellegrini/Herald

Willow Road School students, from left, Nathan Djokic, Jillian Cosme, Matthew Leo and Morgan Coyle showed off their ballroom dancing skills.

Janette Pellegrini/Herald

Amanda Borgogelli and Ryan Walfisch were dance partners.

Janette Pellegrini/Herald

Jacob Butler, Allison Naumov, John McCarthy and Rebecca Testani demonstrated the tango.

Janette Pellegrini/Herald

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Fourth-graders at Willow Road School learned their manners. They also learned some dances moves they might be able to break out at their proms a few years down the road.

Students at the Valley Stream District 13 elementary school spent two months taking ballroom dancing lessons, and they were able to show off their new skills during a special performance on March 19. Family members were invited to attend the cotillion, a formal dance ball, in the school’s gymnasium that afternoon.

The children learned several dances, such as the fox trot, waltz, tango, samba and rumba, from CoDanceCo, a non-profit dance organization. As part of the professional instruction they received, they also learned proper etiquette. After performing their moves for the audience, the children then invited their parents up to share a dance.

The dance lessons helped the students build strength in their legs while improving flexibility. Ballroom dancing is known to improve cardiovascular health, as well as intellectual and mental abilities. Students were also given a geography lesson, as they learned about the national origins of the various dances.