Through the use of dance, children are taught the skills of teamwork, sportsmanship, social awareness, goal-setting, manners, etiquette, trust and mutual respect.

As an example –from the first day of instruction the children are addressed as “ladies” and “gentlemen” or “leaders”. This year, after one of our first classes, a school principal commented, “No one has ever addressed them as ladies and gentlemen.”

In addition, we strive to strengthen their own sense of self worth and confidence through continual encouragement, and by acknowledging their personal accomplishments in and out of the class. We also emphasize the power of each person’s own choices, good and bad, and their subsequent consequences. Our goal is to direct them to make good choices which will benefit them both in the present and in their future. Our hope is that each child will rise to a higher level of personal expectation and achievement, especially that they will recognize that true leadership is exercising the full potential of their gifts and using them to further not only themselves, but others.

Success for Life Ballroom started the fall of 2007 in two Louisville inner city schools with two programs each. It is our goal to reach more schools this school year of 2007/08. Our program was recently filmed by the Jefferson County School District to be shown in the near future on their program.

Our program is patterned after another successful mentoring/ballroom program, Life Change Ballroom, in Oklahoma City, directed by Cindy Pipkin. This program started with eight
inner city schools in the fall of 2006 and during that time it received a nomination for the Perfect Partnership Award from the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation. This 2007/08 school year they have expanded to 25 Oklahoma City schools. Their amazing results include a marked decrease in disciplinary problems and increases in attendance and test scores. See our Testimonials page for more details.

Click here to read our Program Description.