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Heart of Dance teaches students ballroom dancing, social skills
In Communities that KARE, we’re celebrating a Twin Cities-based program helping kids and older adults find their rhythm in social situations.
MINNEAPOLIS — A Twin Cities-based dance program is helping kids and older adults find their rhythm in social situations.
Heart of Dance, located in Minneapolis, offers partner dance classes for both middle-school students and adult seniors. Participants learn different dances and the cultures from where they originated.
Ballroom dance educator Andrea Mirenda and former Minnesota State Senator Ember Reichgott Junge created the program in 2015.
Dancing Classrooms, Heart of Dance’s foundational program, allows students to build confidence, cultural awareness, gender respect and connection with classmates.
“This is not really a dance class,” Mirenda said. “We simply use dance as the platform to teach essential life skills, social and emotional learning skills, to learn about cultures from countries around the world.”
The program focuses on students in fifth and eighth grades, both ages that have proven to have the biggest impact.
“Parents tell us their students like to get up on dance days to go to school, they don’t have to fight to get them out of the house,” Mirenda said. “That they come home and do their homework so that they can practice their dancing.”
For seniors, Heart of Dance organizers said the program helps improve cognitive function and creates community.
Learn more about Heart of Dance and Dancing Classrooms by following this link.
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Last week, prosecutors charged John Sawchak with attempted 2nd-degree murder and other felony charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor Davis Moturi.
MINNEAPOLIS — Following the shooting between two neighbors, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to request that the city’s auditor conduct an independent investigation into the incidents and cases between Davis Moturi and John Sawchak.
Moturi was allegedly shot by his neighbor, Sawchak, on Wednesday, Oct. 23 but Minneapolis police did not arrest Sawchak until days later.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara defended not arresting Sawchak sooner, calling it a “high-risk” situation. O’Hara later said the victim, who had complained about harassment from Sawchak for months, was failed by police. Sawchak was arrested this past weekend after an hours-long standoff.
Moturi suffered a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion in the shooting. “Mr. Moturi’s life matters and I’m sorry that for nearly a year, MPD did not treat it like it did,” said Council Member Robin Wonsley in a news release, “Today’s vote affirms that the City Council is committed to taking meaningful actions towards accountability and restoration, starting with this independent review.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released this statement:
“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow. The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and does not align with who we are as a community. Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”
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KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
