WATERVLIET - Fourteen pairs of feet danced their way through the cha-cha, foxtrot and meringue Sunday afternoon as division of a division led by world-renowned ballroom dancer Mayo Alanen. The catch? Those feet belong to a grouping of sixth graders from five local schools.As alumni of Dance Crazy, a program promoting ballroom dancing to quarter and 5th grade students throughout the Capital District, the 14 children - and two adult stand-ins - were rehearsing for a performance at an upcoming benefit gala.
lanen, an acclaimed dancer since his years on the Brigham Young University ballroom dancing formation team, has appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" and lately won the rate of second-best ballroom dancer in the earth at an international competition. He serves as Dance Crazy`s artistic director.The programme began in 2005, inspired by the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom," about inner-city children learning the art of dance. Finishing up its fourth year, Dance Crazy expects to exceed 1,000 students this coming season."Our whole mission is promoting enrichment of children through the variation of ballroom dance," said Michelle Hines Abram, executive director. "Ballroom dancing is a lot about etiquette and being respectful of your spouse and besides being very disciplined in how you do it, so we`re trying to learn the kids those things through that."Students from five local schools meet twice a week for 16 weeks, then have team and individual competitions. The program hopes to add more schools to the mix in the coming years, Abram said.Alanen saw a lot of himself in the boys and girls present Sunday, he said. Born and elevated in El Paso, he began dancing at age 12, motivated by a televised cha-cha performance set to a Michael Jackson song, complete with Moonwalk."I was directly inspired," Alanen recalled. "From that period forward, once that little spark happened for me, it kind of started the wheels in motion. I started taking dance lessons and I drop in bed with it, and I never stopped. From that one small spark, I was capable to produce an entire life."That animation has included earning a scholarship to BYU for his dancing, appearing on national tv and international stages and still running for the very couple he watched on TV as a child.Continued.
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