Honoring: Dancing With the Stars’ Val and Maks Chmerkovskiy and father Sasha Chmerkovskiy for Baranova 27, their family’s humanitarian relief effort for Ukraine; Marisa Hamamoto, Transformational Movement Artist and Accessibility Advocate; and Dancing Classrooms’ Alumnus Tareake Dorill, founder of the arts education non-profit, Dorill Initiative.

Dancing Classrooms will host its annual Mad Hot Ball on Wednesday April 26, 2023 at 6:30pm EST at the Edison Ballroom in Manhattan’s Theater District. The event will honor changemakers in the dance field with live music, student performances, a “silent” and “live,” fund-a-need auction, and of course, dancing! Watch a video recap of Mad Hot Ball 2022 here and get your tickets today.

Tickets include student performances, cocktail hour, select wines, a seated dinner, and of course dancing – from salsa and swing to tango and waltz – to the live music of the Paul Errico Orchestra.

Emerging from nearly three years of pandemic disruptions, Dancing Classrooms has expanded its programming to reach students in K-12th grade, as well as Students with Disabilities, and has begun teaching a more inclusive array of social dance forms from around the world in supporting young people who have limited access to arts learning.

Dancing Classrooms’ Executive Director Nancy Kleaver says, “Dancing Classrooms’ vision is a world that values social dance as foundational to every child’s well-being and joy, celebrates the beauty of diversity, and amplifies our shared humanity. Every day we aim to create radically inclusive communities through the power of movement, culture, connection, and joy. Mad Hot Ball guests will experience that power firsthand and get to join our movement to cultivate thousands of engaged learners and collaborative young leaders through dance.”

Everyone who wants to dance can dance, no matter what level they are! This year guests can bid on VIP Dance Cards and purchase dance tickets to take a spin around the dance floor with some of ballroom’s most prestigious professional dancers and teachers (names to be announced in March). All proceeds will benefit Dancing Classrooms’ year-round, free social dance programs for young people across the U.S. Details on tickets and sponsorship levels can be found here.

The evening’s program will be co-emceed by Mickela Mallozzi, four-time Emmy® Award-winning Host and Executive Producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, a travel series highlighting the diversity of dance, and Dancing Classrooms’s alumnus Dwayne Beach, an acclaimed interdisciplinary artist, violist, violinist, singer-songwriter, and ballroom dancer.

The Mad Hot Ball 2023 Gala Steering Committee is Co-Chaired by Mary Lou Quinlan, acclaimed author, playwright, actress, and inspirational speaker, and Mayo Alanen popular ballroom dance professional, coach, choreographer, and former recipient of Dancing Classrooms “Humanitarian Award.” Auctioneer Karen Sorbo will conduct the Live Fund-A-Need Auction.

Get your tickets here! For more information on the Dancing Classrooms, visit DancingClassrooms.org and follow @DancingClassroomsNYC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.