Pierce Street Elementary hosts ‘Dancing with the King’
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Anthony Golding has been the principal of Tupelo’s Pierce Street Elementary for two years and has seen the positive impact of ballroom dance lessons on the students.
“This year we expanded to include fourth and fifth-grade students, students have really found a passion for ballroom dancing at Pierce Street,” Golding said.
That is one reason Golding agreed to be a celebrity dancer in this year’s “Dancing with the King” event. For weeks, he has worked with Tammy Wilson, a pro-dance instructor at the Dance Studio of Tupelo. For his dance, the principal chose “C’mon Everybody” from “Viva Las Vegas.”
“I chose the song because it is out of my comfort zone, to choose a song maybe some people have not heard of or seen people dance to,” Golding said.
Wilson says Dancing with the King helps introduce ballroom dance to a new generation.
“We see their ability to work well with others because the partnering aspect of this, we require them to work with the opposite gender, sometimes they do not get a lot of exposure to that when they are very young,” Wilson said.
Principal Golding says although the ballroom dance routine is out of his comfort zone, he is glad to help raise money to bring the dance lessons to schools.
“I would encourage other schools to participate in this program because we try to reach students in a multitude of ways,” Golding said. “Every student has a niche, and this opportunity is some of my student’s outlet, an opportunity to grow and this is where they feel like they are becoming their best self. Ballroom dancing can help bring that out.”
Dancing with the King has helped bring ballroom dance lessons to six schools in Lee County and Tupelo.
