Ballroom Dance Class Seeks Help from Ellen Degeneres

In early October, the Medfield High School ballroom dance classes sent an e-mail to talk show host Ellen Degeneres requesting ballroom shoes for their classes and performances. The shoes are too expensive to fit in the school’s budget, so the class turned to dance-lover Degeneres for support.  

In the first week of October, class teacher Karen Renaud enlisted her fellow teachers, students and family members to flood Ellen’s inbox with requests for the shoes. Renaud said, “One of my students and I were talking about our love for the show, and the idea came to me to ask Ellen for the shoes. She dances every day on her show and constantly helps people out.” The class is still waiting to hear back from Degeneres.

Degeneres frequently finds ways to mix her humor with dancing on her daytime talk show Ellen. She dances with her audience each day and shows off her moves for each guest. Degeneres has made appearances on So You Think You Can Dance as a judge and performer. The talk show host is also known for helping strangers who reach out to her via e-mail, phone call, and even the occasional YouTube video.  Renaud is hoping that Ellen will supply enough shoes for the 37 students in her classes so they can all match in their recital and daily class.

Since its beginning two years ago, the ballroom dance class has had success with its large class sizes and enthusiastic dancers. “If students can enjoy this class half as much as I do, they’ll do it for their whole life. This really is the goal of these Wellness courses,” Renaud said.

Renaud’s passion for dance has rubbed off on her students. Senior Nicole Downing said, “As a dancer outside of school, I love learning difference styles of dance in this class. The skills [Renaud] teaches us are ones we can use every day, no matter how old we are.” Downing, along with the rest of the class, still has hope that Degeneres will reply.

By Eliza Adams

This article was written by Eliza Adams, a Medfield High School student and member of the student newspaper, The Kingsbury Chronicle. The piece is part of Medfield Patch's weekly series, "Warrior Weekly," helping provide information about MHS to the local community.