1, 2, cha-cha-cha…3, 4, cha-cha-cha…

Clearly Stuyvesant students find ways to use numbers even when not in math class. Students who enroll in ballroom dance as their senior Physical Education (PE) class know that the progression of natural numbers can be put to use to sense rhythm, which is a key component in performing a dance with grace.

Because ballroom dance is very popular among seniors, not all students get to take it. Seniors who didn’t get the chance first term are hopeful for second term. Senior Lily Ostrer, who hopes to take ballroom dance in the spring term, said, “There are a lot of exciting PE classes senior year, but ballroom is different from everything that is offered, and it seems to go against the stereotype of Stuyvesant classes because it involves being creative in physical ways.”

Yet ballroom dance is one of the most difficult and time-consuming classes the physical education department offers. When the term nears its end, hoards of dancers practice their routines on the first floor, inching their way to perfection. According to ballroom dance teacher Silvanna Choy, the students have to pick their own music and make their own choreography for a final project for the class.

“[Choreographing your own dance] should be fun. [Choy] was showing us a bunch of video clips on dances in previous years. It’s going to be interesting to see what we can come up with, and it will be a great way to get to know someone who you may not know as well,” said senior Marley Lindsey, who is currently taking the class.

However, students take away more than dancing skills from the class. “Number one, the class teaches respect. It teaches them how to respect one another and how to respect themselves” said Choy.

Students are assigned their dance partners based on height. “They might choose a partner they may not like, but they have to make it work,” Choy said.

Most of the students who sign up for ballroom are beginners who have no previous experience in the dance, but many adapt very nicely to the class.

“It’s a class where all levels are welcome […] when I started up, I was an absolute beginner, but now I can do so many dances [....] [the atmosphere] is very easy-going, and very comfortable, and you don’t have to feel uncomfortable about anyone laughing at you,” Lindsey said.

Regardless of skill or level of background experience, the final performance is a blast for performers who are dedicated to the dance. The performance is judged based on students’ use of steps learned in class, steps learned outside of the class, conjunction of the music and corresponding steps, and the overall execution.
“They have to be disciplined because they have to have proper form and etiquette,” Choy said.

Students learn many types of ballroom dance. Meringue, rumba, cha-cha, waltz, tango, swing, foxtrot, and hustle are all part of the curriculum. Students are assigned their dance by drawing out of a hat.

While Choy’s favorite dance to teach is the waltz, the Latin dances are sometimes the hardest to teach because the instruction occurs at the beginning of the curriculum.

“When the kids first come into the class, they are not familiar with one another. So when I teach them [Latin dance] sometimes it is quite a shock,” Choy said. “I feel that this class gives the kids a lot of confidence. Some kids come in here so tentative, so shy. Then, it’s amazing, the transformation. They walk out of here with their heads high.”

Choy was first assigned to teach ballroom dance in September 2002. In order to teach the class, she registered for private ballroom dance lessons herself.

All of her hard work has paid off, however. “I love to teach the class. It’s a lot of fun. They [the students] are very enthusiastic and very motivated,” Choy said.