They call it Dance Club and it was a place for students at Crockett Middle School in Irving to do something that took their minds off of everything else.
It started as just a club, but quickly grew into a family, according to the man who started it, biology teacher, Michael Berg.
We introduced you to Berg and the club's students in November 2019, as they were preparing for a talent show.
"Dance Club is a free after school club open to any students of Irving ISD. Our school is a Title I government-funded school, and our children come from very low socioeconomic and underprivileged backgrounds," Berg said. "Most of our students are on free lunch. But that’s not who they are. These are normal kids trying to do the same thing as any others. They are growing and encountering challenges and struggling to beat the stress of working through school and dealing with their own problems. In Dance Club I currently have about 40 beautiful kids that just want to learn to dance because it’s fun, and there’s no judgment that can usually come with Middle School."
When attending school was no longer possible because of the coronavirus pandemic, these students who depended on dance club, no longer had it.
“I am doing good, but I miss dance club,” one student wrote in their online classroom.
“I’m doing OK,” another wrote.
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Berg saw it was clear, not only were these kids friends taken away from them but for many of them, their sense of belonging.
"Our motto of dancing to express has become even more important in maintaining our physical and mental well-being as we fight together to get through this trying time,” Berg said. “So if my kids and I have one piece of advice for you? It’s to keep dancing... and even quarantine can’t stop the music."
Berg recently uploaded to YouTube one of their last videos together before school closed. That dance video has more than 4,000 views and counting. He said he next plan is to upload tutorial, dance videos so the kids can still dance, no matter where they are.
