Thirty-seven Zoller Elementary School fifth graders will show off their ballroom dancing skills at the "5^th Annual Celebration of Zoller Ballroom" on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the school.  The young dancers, who have been taking lessons from two area professional ballroom dance instructors right at the school, will perform the Swing, Rumba, Cha Cha and more. 

The Zoller ballroom dance program began in 2005 and was inspired by the movie “Mad Hot Ballroom,” which is about 11-year-old NYC public school kids who journey into the world of ballroom dancing.  While doing so, they are transformed from reluctant participants to determined competitors.   It’s caught on the same way at Zoller and according to school Principal Pat Doyle, it gets stronger each year. 

The program at Zoller has garnered a lot of interest and support.  The school has formed a committee that guides the program and includes the program's dance instructors David and Dawn Levesque of Dancin’ Time, the school principal, a retired social worker, the school nurse, teachers, parents, alumni, dance volunteers as well as members from Union College, Key Bank, Albany Medical Center, CapitalCare and more. 

The program is paid for through fundraising and in large part by donors from the local dance community including Fred Astaire Dance Studio, USA Dance and The Ron Curry Foundation.  More than 11 sponsors and benefactors have made donations ranging from $30 to more than $800 each.   

In addition to providing an introduction and lessons to ballroom dance, Doyle said that the program helps enhance students’ self-esteem, respect for others, tolerance, fitness and skill proficiency. 

Wednesday’s event will also feature demonstrations by local youth dancers and local ballroom dance friends.