In the months since Maureen Pavia put together a dazzling arts-focused inaugural event celebrating her husband's election as Stamford mayor, she's worked hard to make sure the arts are accessible to youngsters.
With her upcoming project, Pavia will bring the joy of ballroom dancing to Stamford kids. She hopes to launch the 12-week program, called Dancing Classrooms, early next year at the Stamford Boys & Girls Club and for fourth-graders at Waterside School. Pavia will serve as one of three instructors.
"It's very basic ballroom dancing tango, cha-cha, merengue," said Pavia. "We're very much looking forward to it."
Being first lady of Stamford allows Pavia to merge her interest in the arts with service to the community. She spearheaded the Stamford Gives Back Association and has helped organize or contributed to a number of cultural events. For Dancing Classrooms, she's partnered with Carol Bryan, producer/director of DanceFest, to bring the grace, discipline and beauty of ballroom dance to young people.
Bryan discussed the idea with Pavia after learning about the New York-based program, a project of the American Ballroom Theater Co.
"We said we want to be the first to bring it to Connecticut," said Pavia, who will travel to New York in November to receive training in the customized Dancing Classrooms teaching method.
Focusing on dance is no coincidence. Pavia is a former national ballroom dance champion and taught dance for 20 years. The Stamford native put dancing on the back burner for a while to focus on family she and Mayor Michael Pavia have two grown daughters and two grandsons but "I never really stopped," she said.
With Dancing Classrooms, she's looking forward to helping youngsters discover the "positive energy" of dance.
"I'm confident it's going to be successful," she said.
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