Viewfinder: Dancin' for a Pair of 'Golden Shoes' at Medfield High

When health and wellness teacher Karen Renaud arrived at Medfield High School three years ago, she had a vision: to start a ballroom dance course. 

“I have a passion for dancing, I enjoy it and it is part of our Massachusetts State Curriculum framework so it worked right in," Renaud said. "I don’t know if [dancing] has been done before I got here to school. When I came over I talked to my colleagues and they were all for it and we just started a ballroom dancing unit."

The unit is currently in its third year and is a three-week program within the sophomore wellness curriculum. The portion of the wellness course is highlighted by a dance competition and performance for the "Golden Shoes." The class period that performs the best is crowned the winners of the Golden Shoes award and presented with a plaque. 

"I'm amazed at how well these kids took it," said fellow wellness teacher Paul Coutinho. "At first they say 'I'm not doing it' and then we start talking about the competition and Medfield is competition and [they took off]."

Period three won the third annual competition but Coutinho said all the class periods performed well and it was a difficult decision to make for the judges. 

"I picked period three, but I could have picked period four," Coutinho said. "None of [the students] knew who was going to win." 

Renaud said she was proud of the students and the progress the unit has made over the years.

"These kids did such an awesome job," she said. "Each year has gotten a little better and this year it has gotten a lot better because I was awarded a grant from [The Medfield Coalition for Public Education] and have already started taking some training myself and was able to take what I have learned and apply it here with the kids."

The Ballroom Dancing grant awarded to Renaud's program was for $7,500 and will be used to turn the ballroom dancing unit into a full-semester course available to all grades in the high school. Currently, the three-week unit is only available sophomores.

"I hope and pray we can get the ballroom dance class off the ground to be a full semester course and that is supported by the grant," Renaud said. "That's the goal, is to have one semester section and students will really learn in-depth, 10 of the ballroom dances and we are looking to participate in competitions." 

Renaud's hope is that students and parents see the program as an "opportunity to not only learn a great lifetime physical activity but also help with brain function and academic progress and achievement." 

Rose O'Reilly, the high school representative for the MCPE was extremely pleased with the progress of the program in such a short time.

"The Coalition is excited to be instrumental in bringing this class to the students of Medfield High School," O'Reilly said. "I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to see the Golden Shoes competition. It is amazing to see how much they learned in such a short time."

Editor's note: "View Finder" is a weekly image gallery featuring the faces and places of the town of Medfield.