Middle-schoolers at Lenore K-8 in Mingo County get to dance away the last period of the week as a reward for good behavior. “They love it,” said principal Sabrina Runyon. “We’ve actually seen discipline problems drop since we adopted physical activity as a reward.”

Rural kids learn dances from around the world at Calhoun County’s Heartwood in the Hills. Photo courtesy Heartwood.

If a middle school student at Mingo County’s Lenore K-8 School has behaved well in class all week, he or she gets to dance or play ball Friday afternoon. Dancing and physical activity are weekly, popular rewards at that school. Imagine that!

Kids line up on the stage and rock out for 90 minutes, with a teacher who teaches them a wide variety of old and new dances.

At Calhoun County’s Heartwood in the Hills, rural children and teenagers learn a variety of dancing styles and perform regularly for the community.

Zumba teacher Leatha Wilbur with her young students. Photo: Chip Ellis

There are zumba classes all over West Virginia now, in almost every small town.

Dancing doesn’t cost much. Dancing is fun. Dancing can be aerobic.

There are square dancing groups in many counties. Long schedules of square dances can be found on the Internet.

People dance at clubs at night. Ballroom dancing and line dancing happen at some Senior centers and commercial studios.

Beyond zumba, how often do we think of dancing as a fitness tool? Why not stir it up in your community?

 

 The Winfield High School dance team, athletes themselves, performing at halftime of a basketball game.

Want to stir up more dancing and zumba in your community?

If you need a place to hold dances or dancing classes, consider a shared use agreement with a school or other public building.

At Jackson’s Mill, 4-H-ers from all over the state enjoy square dancing. Photo courtesy Augusta Heritage Center

Square dancing and contra dancing have the most statewide resources:

• The WV square dance organization Web site has a list of WV square dance clubs: http://www.wvsquaredance.org
• Here’s a list of WV contra dances and square dances.  http://www.contradancelinks.com/schedule_WV.html
• If you need a square dance caller, venues, organizations, etc., here’s a helpful list: https://www.you2candance.com/CALLERS/WestVirginia.php
• Make a traveling dance schedule with other communities. Here’s The Mountain Dance Trail, organized by the Augusta Heritage Center: http://mountaindancetrail.org. And here’s a New York Times article about the Mountain Dance Trail: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/us/a-west-virginia-town-rediscovers-square-dancing.html?_r=0

Dancing for Kids

• Use dancing as a reward for good behavior in school: See story about Mingo County’s Lenore School: https://theshapewerein.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/mingo-school-fitness-combined.pdf
• Create a community dance/movement school: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heartwood-in-the-Hills/170622062621
• Weave dancing into your summer camp or afterschool program.
• Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) was put into every West Virginia school several years back.  This program and similar programs that require the child to move with the program are great ways to channel a child’s preoccupation with video games into healthy movement. Read what the New York Times said about West Virginia and DDR: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/health/30exer.html?_r=0
  

  Dance Dance Revolution became a statewide sports event after every school received a DDR kit. Every year, school teams compete in a statewide tournament

• Start a dance troop at middle or high school levels. See above video of the Winfield High School dance troop performing at halftime at games.
• Make a dance video:  Mingo County summer campers sing and dance W.Va. history with ‘WV Mambo’

Here’s a link to the demo of the WV Mambo, an original dance created and played by The Carpenter Ants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEklY0VX1wE

Zumba  

• To find a zumba class, type zumba and your community name into a search engine. If there’s not one near you, put an ad in the paper, asking if somebody wants to teach.

Ballroom dancing

Anthony Chotuck and Connie Hudson, Latin dancing to a boombox at a picnic shelter in Ronceverte. (Kate Long photo)

• Try West Virginia Dance, Inc. at https://www.facebook.com/WV-Dance-Inc-94235577178/ for a listing of ballroom dancing classes in the Charleston area.  If you’d like ballroom dancing in your community, consider getting a space – perhaps through a shared use agreement – then finding a teacher and getting people to sign up.

Dance studios:

To find a dance studio in your area, type “West Virginia dance studios” and the name of your community into a search engine.

• http://www.manta.com/mb_44_B738F_49/dance_studios_schools_and_halls/west_virginia
  • http://findadancestudio.com/West_Virginia/wv

 Publicize existing dance opportunities in your community. It’s one more reason to have a recreation page on your community Web site.

Also see these Try This pages:  Get Schoolkids Moving, Fun Challenges to get people moving, jump rope, hula hoops and other fun activities.

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