The nonprofit organization The Gateway presents “Ballroom With a Twist” on Thursday, August 13, at 8 p.m. in Patchogue featuring students from Sousa Elementary and Dancing With the Stars pros Chelsie Hightower, Anna Trebunskaya, Dmitry Chaplin and special guest Gilles Marini, of Sex and the City, Brothers and Sisters, Modern Family and Devious Maids. Finalists from So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol will also be featured.
Port students, along with students from across Long Island, representing Dancing Classrooms Long Island (DCLI) will open the show with a medley of dances.
Sixth-grader Jacqueline Atchley said, “It’s pretty exciting. I’ve never performed in an event like this before.” She rehearsed a lot to learn all of the steps.
DCLI is a social development artist-led residency program geared for students in grades four through eight, regardless of background or experience. The subject of the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, the program uses the vehicle of ballroom dancing to build students’ social and emotional literacy, confidence, self-esteem and respect for others. For more information, visit www.dancingclassroomsli.org or call 646-345-5234.
The Gateway: Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County (PACSC) produces and presents high-caliber theater and performing arts events as well as engages and trains the next generation of artists. PACSC enriches the cultural lives of Long Island communities, providing a local alternative to Broadway.
Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts is located at 71 East Main Street; Patchogue. For tickets, call 631-286-1133 or visit www.gatewayplayhouse.org.