Dancing Classrooms Invites Community-At-Large to Mad Hot Ball 2024

The Dancing Classrooms Board of Directors invites you to celebrate thirty years of transforming lives through dance at its annual Mad Hot Ball Gala on September 20, 2024 at The Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, New York, NY. 

The Mad Hot Ball, starting at 6:30 pm EST, will honor four outstanding contributors to the social dance and the broader community: 

● Yang Chen, Dancing Classrooms Board member and Executive Director of the Asian American Bar Association of New York will receive the Humanitarian Award for his social justice work and longstanding commitment to fostering community through ballroom dance; 

● Carrie Steinmetz, former Dancing Classrooms Board Chair and co-owner of the Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine Dance Studio, will be presented with the Dancing Classrooms Champion Award for her pivotal leadership as a former Board Chair and ongoing support of social education for all ages; 

● Celebrated choreographer Maria Torres will be honored with the Social Dance Innovator Award for her groundbreaking work in “Latin Jazz” dance technique, hustle, and more, taught and performed worldwide; and 

● Alejandro Mejia, a former Dancing Classrooms student featured in the film Mad Hot Ballroom, and who embodies the company’s values of connection, joy, and inclusion as a beloved middle school educator, will receive the Alumni Achievement Award. 

“Our 2024 Mad Hot Ball celebrates the past, present, and future impact of Dancing Classrooms, bringing together our community to advocate for a more diverse, accessible, compassionate,

and relevant education that includes dance for every child,” says Nancy Kleaver, Dancing Classrooms Executive Director. 

Perhaps best known for the 2005 film Mad Hot Ballroom, Dancing Classrooms cultivates engaged learners, collaborative leaders, and inclusive spaces through the joyful art and practice of social dances. As the first and largest organization providing free ballroom dance education to public school students, we envision a world that values social dance for every child's well-being and joy. Throughout its history, this nonprofit has shown its commitment to justice, equality, and inclusion by engaging more than 700,0000 children worldwide, the majority of them from underserved communities. Research has shown that the Dancing Classrooms program improves students’ social-emotional learning skills in school, including collaboration, focus, and motivation, all necessary for success in school and life. 

Several updates to the event will help mark the organization’s special anniversary. This year’s Mad Hot Ball has moved from a springtime event to the fall and will be held at a new location, the beautiful Renaissance Revival-style ballroom of the Bohemian National Hall on Manhattan’s Upper Eastside. Other new features include live music from Danny Jonokuchi & The Revisionists, who will play all styles of social dance music during an extended open dance segment of the evening, and an “All-Stars Company” comprised of Dancing Classrooms students from schools across New York City will perform. 

Actor and longtime Dancing Classrooms Teaching Artist and staff member Victoria Malvagno, also featured in Mad Hot Ballroom, will host the program and an auction will be conducted by Cate Smit. 

Dancing Classrooms Board Vice Chair, founder of Joyful Planet LLC, and author of Becoming Ginger Rodgers, Patrice Tanaka is Chair of the gala committee and says, "The individuals we are honoring at Mad Hot Ball 2024 exemplify the best of what Dancing Classrooms builds -- caring, compassionate leaders who make the world more equitable, just, and joyful." 

Support of any amount goes directly to supporting Dancing Classrooms programs and individuals may donate and/or RSVP using the link here. To learn more about Dancing Classrooms visit dancingclassrooms.org.