1
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Hello, ladies and gentlemen.

2
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May I have this dance, please?

3
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This is the question that has been asked
by many people, including myself.

4
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When you touch someone
with respect, something changes.

5
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But we no longer touch each other

6
00:00:33,099 --> 00:00:35,766
with all of the new technology
around us today.

7
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Many human beings no longer
communicate face-to-face.

8
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We speak to each other
through text and faceless media.

9
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It's much easier to avoid
our natural feelings and emotions.

10
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The Spike Jonze's film, last year, "Her"
depicted what we could look forward to:

11
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having a love relationship
with our computer.

12
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Getting on to public transportation
or even getting into the elevator,

13
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we no longer make eye contact,
or body contact for that fact.

14
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We have become experts
at isolating ourselves.

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This is a global issue.

16
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Mr. Einstein said,

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"I fear the day when technology
takes over our human interaction.

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We will have a world of idiots -
a generation of idiots."

19
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Well, I stand before you today
to show you another way

20
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that's fun, easy, and will make
your life very, very different.

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What if I told you, if you are shy,

22
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you could become confident
and more self-assured?

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What if I told you you could change
your physical demeanor?

24
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And what if I told you,

25
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you could have trust with someone
whom you don't know

26
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and that person could even be an enemy?

27
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All of this is possible
through ballroom dancing.

28
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(Laughter)

29
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"Pardon? What? Huh? Why?", you might ask.

30
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Well, it forces two people
to stand facing each other,

31
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look each other in the eye,
and move together.

32
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All the while,

33
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they get to know each other,
have fun in the embrace hold.

34
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It changed my life,

35
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and I'm going to show you
how it can change yours.

36
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When I call you "ladies and gentlemen,"
you feel differently about yourself.

37
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You sit up straighter,
you feel positive and confident,

38
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and you send out
with your body language and your posture

39
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a signal that you are
confident and assured.

40
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When people come to me for lessons,

41
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at the very beginning,
they would walk in like this.

42
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Three months later, like this.

43
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Six months later, standing a bit straight.

44
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A year later, they leave
standing so tall and so straight,

45
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feeling full of confidence
and looking elegant.

46
00:02:55,711 --> 00:02:58,349
This is the magic of ballroom dancing.

47
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It teaches many life skills,
such as self-respect, discipline,

48
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teamwork, and good manners.

49
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The invitation to dance,
the escort position, the embrace hold,

50
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all create a relationship of respect.

51
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The gentleman asking the lady,
"May I have this dance, please?"

52
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She responds,"With pleasure."

53
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He then escorts her onto the dance floor,
and takes her in the embrace hold.

54
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When you treat someone with such respect,

55
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they return the gesture, and now you are
in a relationship of give and take.

56
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Here is a photograph

57
00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:45,544
of my dancing partner of 38 years,
Yvonne Marceau, and myself.

58
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And I'm really proud to tell you,
we won the World Championship four times.

59
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(Cheers) (Applause)

60
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Let's talk about touch.

61
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When a human being dances
with another human being,

62
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you get to know that person
in a way that you cannot describe.

63
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You get to feel
their reaction to your touch,

64
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and your impression of them is altered.

65
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You could be dancing with someone
from another nationality,

66
00:04:13,514 --> 00:04:17,730
another ethnic group,
another socioeconomic status, or race.

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But when you touch that someone
and look them in the eye,

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they now become a unique individual,

69
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and not a label.

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You have learned compassion.

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Trust. Gentlemen, this is for you.

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How many times have you gone out
dancing with your wives or girlfriends,

73
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and found she starts leading you?

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00:04:41,071 --> 00:04:42,525
(Laughter)

75
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Well, ladies feel the music
and learn the steps much faster.

76
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When you dance with someone,
it requires a special relationship.

77
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For me as a teacher,
I ask the lady to close her eyes.

78
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It's incredible how well this works.

79
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Asking the ladies to give up control,

80
00:05:04,581 --> 00:05:08,245
trust their partner,
and just go with the flow.

81
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How often in life can you relax
and trust the person you're with?

82
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Now you're moving beautifully as one,
four feet pretending to be two.

83
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You can't be angry or sad
while you're dancing.

84
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The body changes,
and your soul is elevated.

85
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Also, did you know that ballroom dancing
helps prevent dementia?

86
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The study
at the Einstein Medical College said,

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"Ballroom dancing
two or three times a week

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reduced the risk of Alzheimers by 76%."

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The nearest other study was doing
crossword puzzles four days a week,

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and that was 47%.

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Playing golf - forget about it.

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(Laughter)

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0%.

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(Laughter)

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It's true.

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Ballroom dancing is for all ages.

97
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So, with all due respect, I ask you,
get out of your computer chair

98
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and go and learn to salsa,
or merengue, or some tango;

99
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you'll even have a great time.

100
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I was born in Jaffa in 1944.

101
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My father was from Belfast,
Northern Ireland, and he was Protestant,

102
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my mother Palestinian and Catholic.

103
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Now, being Palestinian meant
we were uprooted from our home in 1948

104
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for the creation of the state of Israel.

105
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With nowhere else to go,
we landed in Amman in Jordan

106
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where I grew up with a broken front tooth,
very shy, and did not like to smile.

107
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Later on, as a teenager in England,
I was made fun of and bullied at school

108
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because of the way I spoke English,
because of my accent.

109
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Then one day, a school friend, Margaret,

110
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asked me if I would like to join her
at a local dancing school.

111
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I was so terrible at it, at the beginning.

112
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And even though
my first dancing teacher

113
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was shouting me, and I mean
really shouting at me,

114
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because I couldn't hear
the 1-2-3 beats of the waltz,

115
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I persevered and then made it my career.

116
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Now, dancing with my dancing partner,
Yvonne Marceau,

117
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in Grand Hotel on Broadway

118
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allowed me to have my daytime hours free.

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And knowing how much my life
had changed because of ballroom dancing,

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I volunteered my services
at a New York City public school

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where I tought 30 unwilling and unruly
11-year-old children to dance.

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(Laughter)

123
00:07:52,003 --> 00:07:55,886
They eventually liked it, and I loved it.

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This became Dancing Classrooms,

125
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the social and emotional
arts-in-education development program

126
00:08:04,618 --> 00:08:08,387
designed to cultivate
essential life skills in children

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00:08:08,387 --> 00:08:11,579
through the practice of social dance.

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00:08:11,993 --> 00:08:16,896
To date, Dancing Classrooms,
I am proud to say, has instructed

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00:08:16,896 --> 00:08:21,481
over 400,000 children
in 31 cities around the world.

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(Applause)

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Studies have shown that the grades
of the students have gone up,

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bullying has decreased,

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and the whole school culture
has changed for the better.

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My journey into
the New York City public schools

135
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was depicted in the movie,
the feature film, "Take the Lead,"

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starring Antonio Banderas,
portraying yours truly.

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(Laughter)

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I also had the privilege
of working in a school

139
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exclusively for autistic children,

140
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and one boy stands out in particular.

141
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He did not like to speak
or have his voice heard.

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And at the culminating party
where parents and friends were invited,

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out of the blue, he suddenly steps
into the center of the circle

144
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and announces to everybody,

145
00:09:16,923 --> 00:09:21,327
what a great time he had had
and how much he loved to dance.

146
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He was nine years old.

147
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Tears flowed down from his parents' eyes.

148
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There are so many other similar stories,

149
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but ballroom dancing
isn't only for children.

150
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It has worked
in psychiatric clinics in Geneva

151
00:09:36,310 --> 00:09:41,095
where doctors and their caregivers
danced with their patients.

152
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And the same thing in the adult
homeless shelter in Arizona.

153
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In both situations,

154
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a high percentage of the participants
began to feel normal again,

155
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and they regained
their self-esteem and dignity,

156
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all because they were treated
like ladies and gentlemen

157
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through the social graces

158
00:10:00,885 --> 00:10:04,747
that go hand in hand
with ballroom dancing.

159
00:10:05,975 --> 00:10:07,830
Ballroom dancing even breaks barriers

160
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between two peoples
that have been enemies for so long,

161
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and overcome hatred,
prejudice and mistrust.

162
00:10:17,252 --> 00:10:21,923
In 2011, I was able
to fulfill my lifelong dream:

163
00:10:21,923 --> 00:10:24,124
I returned to Jaffa,

164
00:10:24,124 --> 00:10:29,031
and I worked with Jewish
and Palestinian Israeli children

165
00:10:29,031 --> 00:10:31,633
and brought them to dance together.

166
00:10:31,633 --> 00:10:36,171
This was the hardest project
I have ever, ever done,

167
00:10:36,171 --> 00:10:38,316
yet the most gratifying.

168
00:10:39,198 --> 00:10:42,410
This was a very, very important moment.

169
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It was the power of touch:

170
00:10:44,697 --> 00:10:47,887
asking these ladies and gentlemen,
these boys and girls,

171
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to dance together ballroom style.

172
00:10:51,317 --> 00:10:56,380
My journey was documented
in the movie "Dancing in Jaffa",

173
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and I also have to say
that if you change the children,

174
00:11:01,995 --> 00:11:06,541
you change the parents and you also
then help change the world.

175
00:11:06,541 --> 00:11:09,647
The trailer of the film
will give you an idea.

176
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(Video) (Music)

177
00:11:17,219 --> 00:11:19,364
Pierre Dulaine: Boys, come over here.

178
00:11:20,344 --> 00:11:24,086
Lois and Alaa stand
next to each other, please.

179
00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,544
PD: I was born in Jaffa, but we left
when I was four years old,

180
00:11:36,544 --> 00:11:41,402
and what I can give back
to children is ballroom dancing.

181
00:11:41,402 --> 00:11:43,818
The program is 10 weeks.

182
00:11:43,818 --> 00:11:47,179
Palestinian and Jewish children together.

183
00:11:49,235 --> 00:11:54,275
Woman 1: From the viewpoint of Islam,
boys and girls are not allowed to dance.

184
00:11:54,275 --> 00:11:56,713
PD: May I have this dance, please?

185
00:11:56,713 --> 00:12:00,083
Girl 1: Now we have to dance with them.

186
00:12:00,083 --> 00:12:02,761
Girl 2: If my dad sees me
with an Arab, he'll kill me.

187
00:12:02,761 --> 00:12:04,781
A Jew with an Arab.

188
00:12:05,478 --> 00:12:08,880
Woman 1: You guys are together.
Boy 1: No. Woman 1: Why not?

189
00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:11,496
PD: I think, we are going
to cancel this school.

190
00:12:11,496 --> 00:12:14,159
[In a city torn between two cultures]

191
00:12:14,159 --> 00:12:15,524
Jaffa is Jewish!

192
00:12:15,524 --> 00:12:18,361
God is great and all praise to Allah!

193
00:12:18,361 --> 00:12:21,314
Girl: Mom, I am shaking!
Woman: Come here, don't be afraid.

194
00:12:21,314 --> 00:12:25,543
PD: What I'm asking them to do
is to dance with the enemy.

195
00:12:27,843 --> 00:12:29,849
Girl 2: Where's your dad?

196
00:12:29,849 --> 00:12:32,562
Boy 2: Do you know what a sperm bank is?
Girl 2: No.

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00:12:33,307 --> 00:12:36,307
(Music)

198
00:12:45,580 --> 00:12:48,865
Woman 2: At the beginning,
she was like a closed flower.

199
00:12:48,865 --> 00:12:50,624
Now she's like this.

200
00:12:50,867 --> 00:12:53,867
Woman: Music!
Girl: Mom, stop!

201
00:12:53,867 --> 00:12:56,559
PD: If you start with a child,

202
00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,559
and they learn to respect
themselves first,

203
00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:04,519
then they can respect other people
as they're growing up, this is my hope.

204
00:13:07,965 --> 00:13:09,905
[Dancing in Jaffa]

205
00:13:09,905 --> 00:13:11,250
(Video ends)

206
00:13:11,250 --> 00:13:13,952
(Applause)

207
00:13:22,401 --> 00:13:26,739
PD: Yes, something changes
when you dance with someone.

208
00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,533
All you need to do is ask a partner,
"May I have this dance, please?"

209
00:13:31,745 --> 00:13:35,249
In closing, ladies and gentlemen,
I'd like to ask you something.

210
00:13:35,249 --> 00:13:40,288
When you leave this auditorium,
please, leave in escort position

211
00:13:40,697 --> 00:13:42,009
(Laughter)

212
00:13:42,009 --> 00:13:45,659
and feel how your posture,
how your stance will be,

213
00:13:45,659 --> 00:13:48,115
and how much you will enjoy it.

214
00:13:48,485 --> 00:13:51,488
Then go home, put on some music,

215
00:13:52,324 --> 00:13:55,534
hold your partner in the embrace hold,

216
00:13:55,534 --> 00:13:57,737
and watch your relationship change.

217
00:13:57,737 --> 00:14:01,131
It will change your life,
one step at the time.

218
00:14:01,468 --> 00:14:04,922
Good luck, thank you and good afternoon.

219
00:14:04,922 --> 00:14:05,967
Thank you.

220
00:14:05,967 --> 00:14:07,861
(Applause)