SCHENECTADY, NY -- At Mont Pleasant Middle School, a dedicated teacher gives direction to a group of students in the art of ballroom dancing.

Seventh-grade social studies teacher Bernice Rivera spends after-school hours with her middle school students every Wednesday and Thursday instructing them in dance techniques at Mont Pleasant.

"The kids really enjoy the teamwork, I feel. They enjoy releasing their feelings and emotions through dance. It is a way of communication for them," Rivera said. "Kids have expressed how powerful and influential these dance programs at the school are."

When Rivera came to Mont Pleasant eight years ago, she said there were not any successful dance programs for the students. But she changed all that when she started a dance squad six years ago and ballroom dancing three years after that.

Rivera trained with Fred Astaire Dance Studio and has danced professionally and competed in amateur events like those held at The Egg in Albany. She said the most satisfying thing she has found in dance has been instilling teamwork and cooperation in her students.

Rivera said they do a lot of team-building activities, including one similar to a basketball practice drill in which the dancers go at the same pace down and back from line to line on the court.

"We do a reflection piece after each practice. So what can we improve on? These are things you can take beyond dancing. These are things you can do in your real life, too, that you can improve on day-to-day things," Rivera said.

"I really want the kids to take pride in their teamwork and really reflect on what they are doing and beyond. Reflect on what you are doing in the hallways, in the classroom, in the streets, and I think it starts with activities like these," she said. "In addition, it really keeps the students focused -- in order for them to stay on these dance programs, they have to maintain a C or above average."

Rivera also runs a peer tutoring program for those students who have been suspended from dancing until they pick up their grades.

Seventh-grader Kim Lopez is trying out for the dance squad this year. She said dancing is fun and she especially likes salsa and meringue.

"Anyone can do it," Lopez said. "It's in between hard and easy."

Another seventh-grader, Chandanie Beekhum, said she started dancing when she was in her native Guyana.

"I just loved dancing when I was small," Beekhum said. "I usually watch movies and do my own stuff."

Rivera said she is not sure which is more popular, ballroom dancing or dance squad, because they both have been growing more and more each year.

"Both of them draw different students," she said.

She said ballroom dancing is a lot more flexible. "If they have track, if they have other activities, as long as they have the communication with me, they can take the time off," Rivera said. "That is another thing I stress with both groups -- communication," she said. "Dance squad, on the other hand, if they commit to it, they have to stay the whole time. We sometimes have one or two that drop out, but it is because of their grades or they move."

Rivera said dance squad, which emphasizes modern dance moves such as hip-hop and stepping, attracts pupils who are thinking of studying dance in college and perhaps becoming professionals.

"I find that kids who want to go into ballroom want to experiment. They've never danced before," she said.

The Mont Pleasant dance teams have been asked to perform at two elementary schools last year and at the Schenectady High School. Last year, the students performed at The Palace Theatre in Albany for a Hispanic heritage celebration in which 80 Mont Pleasant students participated.