Danceworks Mad Hot Ballroom & Tap

Danceworks Mad Hot is an innovative educational dance program, providing arts and physical education to youth in Milwaukee-area schools. Over the last 14 years, Danceworks Mad Hot has touched the lives of more than 26,000 students in grades 4-6 throughout the Greater Milwaukee Area.

Mad Hot’s Primary Goals:

Photo: Jeff Zmania

• To improve students’ self-confidence.
• To improve students’ respect for self and others.
• To improve students’ attitudes toward physical activity.

How the Program Works:

Danceworks Mad Hot runs September-May. Participating schools select one or more 4^th or 5^th grade classrooms to participate in tap (September-January) and one or more 5^th or 6^th grade classrooms to participate in ballroom (February-May).  Danceworks teaching artists provide two weekly one-hour dance classes for 11 weeks – 22 total hours of dance for each style. Culminating performances at each school, and a Danceworks Mad Hot Competition held at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in downtown Milwaukee, cap off the program in both January and May. The Competitions are free and open to the public! Families incur no cost for this program.

Check out some of the great press Danceworks Mad Hot has received.

• Bader Philanthropies
• Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
• United Performing Arts Fund
• Herb Kohl Philanthropies
•  Julia Uihlein
•  Melitta S. and Joan M. Pick Charitable Trust
•  Milwaukee Arts Board and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin