• Breaking down cultural barriers with dance

    In a program called Dancing Classrooms, kids not only learn how to dance, they also learn how to respect one another. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

    Reporter's notebook by Anne Thompson, NBC News

    In a world where social graces are increasingly an endangered species, one man is trying to instill civility and respect in children by teaching them ballroom dancing. 

    Pierre Dulaine's theory about the importance of the foxtrot, rhumba and tango is very simple. 

    "Sitting next to each other doesn't get you to know another person in the classroom," said Dulaine. "But having danced with one another somehow is a different thing.  And I think this is a success of Dancing Classrooms."

    Dulaine, a champion ballroom dancer and former cast member of Broadway's "Grand Hotel," started Dancing Classrooms 18 years ago in one New York City public school.  It is now in 600 schools around the world including Israel, Germany and Switzerland.

    In New York City, ballroom dancing is taught to 5th graders in some 200 public schools twice a week. "Nightly News" went to Brooklyn's P.S. 160 to see the 16-week program for ourselves. 

    You can't help but smile when you watch the children. The girls are often taller than the boys.  Boys and girls are still uncomfortable having to stand close to each other, clasp hands and hold each other.  They have to look each other in the eye, and it is not always easy.

    The teacher will call out, "What color is your partner's eyes?"  Everyone must answer. More than a few wipe off sweaty hands on their clothes.  The awkwardness is absolutely charming.

    These are not the dancing classes of the past.  No white gloves, navy blue blazers and dresses.

    Many of the students wear sweatpants and sneakers, although a few of the girls favor sparkly shoes.  But what is the same is the discovery of the joy of dancing, how much fun it is to glide across the floor in perfect rhythm with another person. 

    The students have fun being elegant and polite.  The young men smile as they escort the young ladies into the classroom.  "Thank you," is said each time they change partners.  It is a wonderful 50 minute class.

    Principal Margaret Russo brought Dancing Classrooms to P.S.160 when she arrived eight years ago. Russo told "Nightly News" that her school, where 62 percent of the students are enrolled in English as a Second Language classes, dancing helps breakdown cultural barriers. It gets children who may not interact with each other to know each other at least for one dance.  That, she said, improves the entire school. 

    "On that dance floor we're all the same so we're one community and I think that's really important," Russo said.

    Ballroom dancing really is a gift. Your posture improves, your confidence improves and awkwardness is replaced with physical grace.  Dulaine says it transformed him from a shy 14-year-old to a confident young man.  It is a skill that stays with you your whole life and always makes you want to get out on the dance floor. 

    "One of our teaching artists tell us that we are teaching children life lessons wrapped around ballroom dancing," Dulaine said. "And I think that puts the nail on the head."

    Jean-Marie Kennedy, a teacher at the Walter Francis Bishop elementary school in New York on the poise, confidence and good manners gained through ballroom dancing.

  • 'Tutu Lady' delivers joy to sick kids

    By Anne Thompson
    NBC News

    Laura Pita is a bundle of energy and she needs it. She is the mother of four tireless boys. Like so many moms, her plate is overflowing. Raising four boys is a full-time job on its own, but one of her sons, 8-year-old Josh, has an acute form of leukemia. Last April, as Josh was undergoing intensive chemotherapy, Pita was also comforting her mother, Roberta "Emmy" Burt who was dying from melanoma. That month, on the day Emmy died, a distraught Pita decided she had to do something positive, something that would remind her that there is happiness in life.  

    "I lost my mommy. I needed to do something or else I would have gone insane," Pita said.  

    So she decided to make a tutu for her niece. That act in a moment of despair was the start of her charity "Emmy's Heart" that is bringing moments of fun and joy in the pediatric wards of Joe DiMaggio Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., and Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla.

    Looking at the tutu, Pita thought of all the little girls she saw fighting cancer. The drugs that promise to make them well also take their hair, their glowing complexions, and their energy. But Pita knew they were beautiful and knew her tutus could remind them of their inner beauty. As for the boys, capes would make them feel like superheroes. With the help of friends, Pita started making tutus and capes and taking them to Joe DiMaggio, where Josh is treated. Watch the faces of scared children transform into confident smiles as they put on the capes and tutus and you will see that Pita's creations have magical powers.

    Instantly, the children go from the difficult reality of being sick to their world of imagination. They become Captain America, Superman, ballerinas, and princesses. They jump, they twirl and most of all, they laugh. Pita's son, Josh, calls himself the Chemo Kid. He is vanquishing his leukemia, now getting chemo just once a month to keep his illness in check. So far, Pita said, they’ve distributed 250 tutus and about 200 capes.

    "I honestly thought here and there I would drop off a tutu for the girls, I had no idea -- no dream ever that this would happen," said Pita, whose family has spent $4000 on the charity since April 2011.  

    They call her "The Tutu Lady." I think you'll agree, they can call her a superhero too. 

    You can learn more about Emmy's Heart by visiting their website or emailing Laura Pita at laura.pita@emmysheart.org.

  • How do you broadcast TV from a submarine?

    After nearly 100 days of reporting on the Gulf oil spill, how do you find new angles on what seems like an already well-covered story?

    NBC News Chief Environmental Correspondent Anne Thompson explains how she and her crew stay on top of the ongoing environmental disaster by exploring new reporting avenues every day.

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    One way is to send NBC News’ Kerry Sanders, who has been covering the Gulf oil spill for the last three months, as close to the floor of the Gulf of Mexico’s as he can get in a submarine.

    One vexing question Kerry has had in his reporting is: Can you see the oil down below the surface?

    In an effort to answer that question, Kerry and his team of cameramen and engineers have gone to great technical lengths. With the help of a group of scientists, he’s going to try to go about 1,000- 1,800 feet below the surface to look at deepwater coral and try to see if the oil is in the loop current.

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    From broadcasting live TV from a ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico to trying to broadcast live from a submarine – Kerry explains the "amazing technical challenges" and the team effort it takes to bring the story home.