Grandma, I know you're reading this because "Dancing with the Stars" is in the title. Well, fun fact, Johnny, who's the big shot and, so far (I'm sorry Johnny if I jinxed it), winning DWTSNZ, teaches our Year 7's and 8's dance every Wednesday/Thursday. I know. STARSTRUCK. Don't worry, mom, I already asked, he's married.
Sundays and Mondays my host mum, roommate and I are glued to the TV watching Dancing with the Stars NZ. But on Wednesdays, I have the pleasure of continuing the show in the school's hall with the Year 7's of Block I, and Johnny.
We started with a few questions and answers, introduction, and then basic skills (individually). After learning the basic steps of the cha cha (lean left, step back, lean front, cha cha cha, lean right, step front, learn back, cha cha cha), we moved on to dancing with a partner. The other teacher and I began pairing up students without hesitation to avoid awkwardness for the students trying to find a partner. Wow, could only imagine if my childhood elementary school had mandatory dance lessons...
Year 7 boys outnumbered the girls, so the other teacher and I stepped in and practiced with the boys. The line of girls rotated after every sequence and I saw both the boys and girls become more relaxed and open to dancing with a partner. The students did struggle with the steps, but after awhile, most were doing well with a few just trying to fake it until they made it.
My host mum, another teacher in the school, came around taking videos and pictures of me dancing with the boys. While I wish I could show those, we're still trying to figure out how to get them off her phone. Just a few technical difficulties, just like a normal DWTS episode, right?
Lastly, Johnny introduced us to the rock n roll. There's a lot of back-stepping, but not complicated at all. This was reassuring when we announced there was going to be a dance competition between blocks. This encourages the students to become interested and engaged in the lessons since they're all very competitive.
This is only week 2 of the course and there are about 4-5 more weeks of practice before the big competition between couples versus the other two Blocks. Stay tuned for updates in our classroom competition and the next DWTS NZ winner!
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