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What a day for USA Dance Los Angeles! Both KABC 7 and the LA Daily News came out to Sutter Middle School to cover their kids’ ballroom dance program. The photo above is ABC 7′s Leslie Miller interviewing Michel Wolpe, USA Dance LA Vice President.

Here’s the transcript from the segment, as well as journalist Angie Valencia’s Daily News article:

Middle-School Students Take Up Ballroom Dancing
Program Gets High Marks

By Leslie Miller

WINNETKA, Nov. 27, 2007 (KABC-TV) – It’s not the music most sixth-graders are used to listening to. At Sutter Middle School in Winnetka, it’s classic ballroom tunes that have these kids moving to a different beat.

They’re a long way from dancing like these professionals who are brought into their physical education class once a week to show them all the right moves.

Dance instructor David Grace says the biggest steps for the kids aren’t the ones they take with their feet.

“The interaction, as far as them not wanting to work with each other, then we get to the hand-holding and the closed dance position, these are all huge steps for kids at this age,” said Grace.

“We learned how to Tango and Merengue. It was fun,” said student Sinai Robles.

Dances the kids have become more familiar with partly due to the huge popularity of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

“I like the different styles of dance the move the costumes and the people on the show,” said student Jonathan Jimenez.

“People have started to realize anyone can dance, any generation and any walk of life, renewed interest in it. Great,” said Michele Wolpe, vice president of USA Dance – Los Angeles.

You could call this class “dancing with the future stars.”

USA Dance Los Angeles is a non-profit organization bringing ballroom dance classes to 550 kids at Sutter Middle School. It’s a program that’s getting high marks.

“It builds their self confidence, allows students to interact in a productive manner so that they respect one another,” said Michael Smith, principal of Sutter Middle School.

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