Thomas Fleming School PE teacher Kelly McClintock has been working hard with students to get ready for a school event called the Dance Off. The Dance Off is being held at Essex High School on Friday, February 6th, 2026 featuring grades 3-5. This annual Dance Off event has been organized by McClintock since 2010.
“To be honest, I am not a dancer at all and never dreamed of teaching it,” McClintock said. “I went to a PE conference once, and one of the workshops was about dance. I decided to make it a class-by-class competition to get more hype going on and bring in judges. I tried the Dance Off one year, and it went really well. It was a lot of work, but I saw that it was possible, and from there it just stuck.”
McClintock helps all the students prepare for this event. First, she choreographs the 3rd and 4th grade dances. Next, she helps the 5th grade students choreograph their dances. Lastly, she teaches the students their dances during their weekly PE classes. Each class decides what to wear for the Dance Off. Since it was the 3rd graders’ first time participating, it was an option whether they wanted to dance.
Many students enjoy the Dance Off. 5th grader Millie Gregory did it last year and said,” I really love the Dance Off because I love coming together to celebrate it.”
Bella Turneaugh is a 4th grader new to this tradition, “I am a little nervous, but whatever happens it will still be fun.”
McClintock is still enthusiastic about the event, even after many years.
“I love the big reveal on the day of the Dance Off,” McClintock said. “I love the excitement in the students’ eyes when they finally get to see the other classes’ routines, and then the energy every student brings into their own dance.”
The Dance Off can be very hard to prepare for and takes a very long time.
“For me, one of the hardest parts is the choreography for the 4th grade classes,” McClintock said. “I want every dance to be great so it can take a while to figure out the moves to each dance to make it fun for students.”
No one knows who is going to come back to school with a win because that will be decided by the guest judges. Last year, the guest judges were three soccer players from the UVM soccer team champions.
