Salsa dips on tap for middle schoolers
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers SALSA RHYTHMS- Yadira Preciado, 13, and Blake El-Zarif, 13, practice a salsa-dancing routine with other Spanish language students on Friday afternoon to prepare for an upcoming performance at University Charter Middle School in Camarillo.

Eighth graders at University Charter Middle School are learning more than conjugating verbs in Danna Lomax's Spanish class.

Dozens of 13- and 14-year-olds in all three eighth-grade classes have been taking 10 weeks of professional salsa dance lessons as part of the Spanish curriculum.

Lomax said the point is to teach the culture of Spanish-speaking countries in addition to the spoken language.

"Really the focus is . . . to get eighthgraders engaged in their learning in whatever forms it takes," Lomax said.

She said an added benefit is that dancing may reach students who learn better through movement and may give others who are not academically gifted the chance to excel in class.

The students will perform in costume at 5:30 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 13 and at 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. Thurs., Dec. 20 in the school's gymnasium. The public is welcome to attend the performances.

To reduce the teenagers' anxiety about dancing in front of each other and the public, Lomax asked them to give her the names of three classmates they would like as a partner. She tried to accommodate the students' choices.

"That built a sense of community," Lomax said.

Katie Phillippe, a math and science teacher who shares students with Lomax, said she was impressed with how the boys were able to overcome inhibitions they may have had in the beginning and learn the dance routine.

"They get excited" about the Friday afternoon lessons, Phillippe said.

Both Phillippe and Lomax said they were impressed by how well the teens followed directions from the dance instructors and by the old-fashioned chivalry the boys showed their dance partners.

" I t was very, very sweet," Lomax said.

A $1,000 grant from Target paid for the dance lessons from Nielsen & Nielsen Ballroom Dancing of Ventura.

Lomax called the dance lessons "a lifelong gift" to the students because they'll probably feel more comfortable on the dance floor now.

That's the case with 13yearold Robert Carbajal, although he's reluctant to say he has mastered the fast-paced salsa steps.

His dance partner and friend, however, Irene Martinez, 13, said he's a good dancer.

"It's fun with Robert," she said.

For more information on the performances, call University Charter Middle School at (805) 484-1872.