“Dancing with the King’ brings ballroom dance to local schools
Proceeds from the annual event fund ballrooom dance lessons for area students
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – The lineup for this year’s Dancing with the King Celebrity contest features ten community leaders, each paired with a pro dance instructor from the Dance Studio of Tupelo.
They have been rehearsing for weeks, learning a ballroom dance routine to an Elvis song.
“He has such a mix, he has so many songs,” said Sara Davis, a pro instructor with The Dance Studio of Tupelo.
Davis choreographed a routine that we will be performing.
We are dancing a salsa, with some surprises thrown in. For Davis, ‘Dancing with the King’ is not only a fun weekend, but it is also a great way to raise money to help bring ballroom dance lessons to public schools.
“One of the things we do in schools, in first class, we say, who knows what ballroom dancing is?
‘They say it means dancing in a big ballroom,’
“So they don’t have a picture of what it means. So it is bringing a new dance style to kids who may only know TikTok dances,” Davis said.
Davis, along with other pro instructors, leads classes in the schools through the semester and sees the benefits of ballroom dance lessons for the young students.
“They learn everything from our strict waltz to our club dances, count rhythm, that is a skill that takes time, and by giving it to them early, they can do it long term. Dancing, health wise, is good for you physically and mentally,” she said.
Dancing with the King helps provide ballroom dance lessons for hundreds of youth every year.
For a full schedule of events for this weekend’s ‘Dancing with the King” go to dancingwiththeking.com.
