Press Room

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Almira Elementary School students stand in the lobby of Playhouse Square’s State Theater, looking up in awe. Most have never been in such a space, the high ceilings and massive art pieces on the walls mesmerize them, as they wait for the final Dancing Classrooms competition to begin.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – As Almira Elementary’s final daily school bell rings, Zoey glances down at her black top and magenta skirt. She’s relieved to see they’re both still clean, as she won’t have time to wash the costume before she heads to the Dancing Classrooms team competition this evening.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – “What’s half of eight? What’s half of four? What’s half of two?” Mr. John Whelan asked his class on a morning in March. But they were not sitting in math class at the time; they were getting ready to practice ballroom dancing, counting the number of shakes, as they warmed up their wrists and ankles.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Instead of the usual blocks of four, the desks in Ms. Mary Hejnal’s fifth-grade classroom are pushed against the walls to create space for the students, who are standing in two concentric circles.

Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio uses 'dance' as a tool to build self-confidence in young students and teach many important life lessons. It is a 10-week social development program that breaks down social barriers and helps children learn honor and respect. Fox 8's Natalie Herbick learns more from Jo Jo Carcioppolo, Founding Exective Director.

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LORAIN, Ohio — Students in Lorain are back in the classroom and getting another chance to build self-confidence by adding a little shake, shimmy and slide to the school day.

CLEVELAND — One Ohio organization is making changes to bring dance back into classrooms safely.

JoJo Carcioppolo, Founding Executive Director of Dancing Classrooms, talked about how her has evolved amid COVID-19

Next school year we can work together in person through our signature Dancing Classrooms program...well, kinda'. We've adapted the program and will now be one step further (okay, it's three feet) to ensure we're "Connecting With Care".

It was time to pivot!

BRAIN BREAKS is a FREE dance program available to all classroom teachers of 4-8th graders. It's meant to 'shake it up' for students and get them moving which helps increase attention and focus and prevent digital burnout. Fox 8's Stefani Schaefer spoke with JoJo Carcioppolo, Founder & Executive Director

CLEVELAND — Angel Negron Rodriguez lights up when he’s dancing.

We’re thrilled to share a "behind the scenes" look at what we've prepared for the 2020-2021 school year.

Dancing Classrooms builds social awareness, confidence and self-esteem in children through the practice of social dance. Today Alexa and Michael were joined by Jo Jo Carcioppolo - Founding Executive Director, Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio.

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CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - A popular program in northeast Ohio is teaching children important lessons of confidence and self-esteem in a way you might not expect: ballroom dancing! We went to Cleveland to find out how in this week's Romona's Kids.

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Dancing the Merengue, Foxtrot, Rumba, Tango and Swing, eight teams from Northeastern Ohio schools competed in this year's finals of the Dancing Classrooms Colors of the Rainbow Team Match.  The winner was...

Fifth-graders at Chardon Hills Magnet School in Euclid danced the morning away thanks to a program called Dancing Classrooms.

Eighth-graders from Wiley Middle School in University Heights grew in many ways through their participation in the Dancing Classrooms program, said Jo Jo Graham, founding executive director of Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The orange team of Crouse Community Learning Center of Akron danced their way to the gold in the 2011 Colors of the Rainbow Grand Finals Saturday at the Ohio Theatre in Cleveland.

Rhythmic counts transform the fifth-grade classroom at Marion-Sterling Elementary School into a bustling dance studio.

Arm in arm, they marched up the stairs and onto the stage of the Ohio Theatre, each wearing the rainbow color of their school.

First, they had to get past the eewwww-I-have-to-hold-hands-with-him-or-her part.