Following their footsteps

Derek and Kendall Kennedy didn’t know they had rhythm until they took a ballroom dance class years ago at the University of Montevallo.

“We made a pretty good pair on the dance floor,” Kendall Kennedy said.

Their lessons came in handy during their college years, she said, especially when it came to swing dancing — a new trend among university students.

“If you didn’t know how to swing dance, you were kind of the odd man out,” Kendall Kennedy said. “The boys and girls who were known as good swing dancers were the ones that got invited to all the parties.”

Today, the Kennedys, both middle school teachers in the greater Birmingham area, pass on what they learned on the dance floor to their students.

“Right around middle-school age is when they want to start interacting with each other — boys and girls — but most of them don’t know how to,” Kendall Kennedy said. “Our goal is to teach them how to do it in an appropriate but fun way that still glorifies the Lord.” 

Kendall Kennedy is a family and consumer sciences teacher at Rudd Middle School in Pinson, and Derek Kennedy is a civics and geography teacher and the seventh-grade boys basketball coach at Mountain Brook Junior High School. 

They combine their love for teaching, children and their religious beliefs into a swing-dance class, Swing for the King. Since late 2012, the couple have been taking area teens for a spin on the ballroom floor. The Kennedys have taught more than 1,500 children from more than nine different Over the Mountain schools. 

However, Kendall Kennedy stresses they are “absolutely not” professional dancers. 

“We are both teachers,” she said. “We love children, and this was an opportunity to get to know more kids in the community. For us, this is more like a form of ministry than a profession.”

In fact, she said the idea for the company began with a plea from her mom. As her little brother was about to enter seventh grade, Kendall Kennedy said her mother fretted about the kind of inappropriate dancing and behavior she had heard about at middle school dances.

“My mom asked us to teach my little brother how to swing dance and invite some of his friends,” Kendall Kennedy said. “I never thought it would happen.”

To their surprise, the kids loved it — almost as much as their parents did, she said.

“People began to hear about it,” Kendall Kennedy said. “And wanting their kids to participate as well.” 

Taking a page from what they had learned from their college experience, the Kennedys reasoned the best way to maximize the benefits to their students was to develop a curriculum based solely on swing dance routines.

“It’s what everyone is doing right now,” she said. “It’s trendy among even older kids, so why not teach them the fundamentals why they are young?”

Kendall Kennedy said classes are usually on weekends, running Friday through Sunday and ending with a small dance party where students can show off what they learned. Classes average about an hour and a half each day and usually are held at the Mountain Brook Community Church in the fellowship hall or the gym, unless otherwise requested. 

The Kennedys teach swing dancing basics, a traditional three-step dance and add in some extra moves for fun. Parents are invited to the last 15 minutes of the second day of class to watch what their child has learned. 

The dance classes have been so popular among young kids that even parents and grandparents have requested their classes at adult events, Kendall Kennedy said. Along with hosting classes for middle school students, the Kennedys also have taught classes to high school students, at a 50th birthday party, at supper clubs and fundraisers for mission trips and other causes complete with photo booths and concession stands. 

Kendall Kennedy said they do not have a set schedule of upcoming classes. Instead, they ask interested parents to contact them with a group of students who would like to participate. Parents should provide a list of students with an even number of boys and girls, so everyone has a dance partner. The students rotate partners throughout the class to avoid any date-like situations and to ensure every girl gets properly asked to dance, and no boys get rejected.

Group classes usually range from 14 to 40 students, she said.  

“We receive emails from parents, students and even principals who say they are in awe of the way these classes have changed the environment of their social functions,” Kendall Kennedy said. “They are no longer having to tear people apart. The dances tend to have a much more appropriate, fun and lighthearted atmosphere.” 

With their love of the dance, do the Kennedys ever take any dance classes themselves or compete on the side?

The short answer, Kendall Kennedy said, is no. When they finally have a night off, she said they tend to stay away from the dance floor.

“We’re not trying to become professionals,” Kendall Kennedy said, laughing. “We just like to have a good time.”

For more information, or to inquire about organizing a dance class, contact Kendall Kennedy at kprater1@forum.montevallo.edu or at 447-4736.