Yes, I have one memory from my years teaching ballroom that still makes me smile every time I think about it.

It was the annual sixth-grade Valentine’s Dance. The gym was dim, music playing, but as usual most kids were glued to the walls.

Then a few of our ballroom students stepped onto the empty floor. They took over the center of the floor, got into position, took a minute to figure out the counts of the music and then began to dance the cha cha we’d practiced over and over. A few more ballroom students spotted them and joined in. Then the whole group of 6th grade ballroom students flowed to the center and began dancing.

In seconds the floor was theirs. The rest of the grade formed a tight circle around them. They figured out a few other songs to dance to and did the swing, the tango, merengue and the cha cha!

I stayed back, arms crossed, heart full, watching the lessons we had drilled finally take flight on their own.

That moment reminded me why I loved teaching ballroom: sometimes you just need a few brave kids to start, and the ballroom magic spreads to everyone. That day everyone knew who the ballroom kids were and they were the envy of everyone that day.