Beeman Ballroom Experience Premieres on TV TONIGHT ~ Mad Hot Ball on Sunday

Here’s what’s happening – from Lisa Smith @ Cape Ann TV:

Cape Ann TV Waltzes in with the Premiere of The Beeman Ballroom Experience Documentary in Conjunction with the Gloucester Fifth Grade Mad Hot Ball

What happens when you take a whole fifth grade class, mix in some cha-cha and waltzes, and what do you get? Join Cape Ann TV as they premiere, The Beeman Ballroom Experience, a half-hour documentary showcasing the four month journey of the Beeman Memorial Elementary School’s 2012 fifth grade students as they begin learning the steps to classic dances in their music classes to the District-Wide Mad Hot Ball Competition, and through these experiences mature and grow into confident young adolescents.

Started in the early 2000s, the Gloucester fifth grade dance program has been funded in part by the Gloucester Education Foundation (GEF) for all of the five Gloucester Elementary schools. Maggie Rosa, President of the Gloucester Education Foundation, says that the “Social skills these children learn are impressive.” Tina and Ron LaFlam, from Miss Tina’s School of Dance, teach the children the art of ballroom dancing. All the student’s hard work and hours of practicing culminates into a final Ball where each pair gets to dance for their families and a panel of judges. Carrie, one of the students interviewed, says that she was “scared” at the beginning of the dance program because she thought some were going to be better then others, but through the process realized that everyone was equal in their ability to dance.

This documentary shows how ballroom dancing still has a place in modern society. It was filmed by Cape Ann TV with CATV staff and Beeman parent volunteer, David Lufkin, and edited by Gordon College Student/Cape Ann TV intern Greg Dry and Cape Ann TV’s Lisa Smith. Ms. Wentzal and Ms. Lafata, two Beeman teachers who were interviewed in the film, say that the children take pride in their accomplishments at the end of the program and at the competition Ball, and that their academics became stronger as a reflection of the things they have learned.

Tune into Cape Ann TV Channel 12 for The Beeman Ballroom Experience on: Thursday, May 2 at 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m.; Sunday May 5 at 9:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Tuesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, May 9 at 8:30 p.m.; Friday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m.  For more programming information go to: CapeAnnTV.wordpress.com.

This year’s Gloucester Fifth Grade District-Wide Mad Hot Ballroom Competition is Sunday, May 5 at 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.