They had to hold hands with a classmate of the opposite sex, move with grace to the sounds of Frank Sinatra and perform dances that many of their parents are too embarrassed to try.

Now, the awkwardness is still there, but the children are beginning to get the hang of their new class in ballroom dancing. Yesterday they stepped back and forth in a circle around their classroom in pairs and promenaded to the beat.

"At first, I thought, 'Oh my God, we're going to be dancing with boys,' " said fifth-grader Vania Lugman. "But then, it started getting really fun."

The class was brought to the school by the new principal, Clarita Zeppie, who oversaw a similar program at a public school in Washington Heights in this year's documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom."

The film told the story of kids who were transformed from reluctant performers to resolute competitors on their way to compete in a city dance competition.

While the Latino children from Manhattan were raised in dancing cultures and were more comfortable with the steps, many of the same lessons from the film are being learned in Rye from Rodney Lopez, a teaching artist with the American Ballroom Theatre.

Most of all, they are gaining social skills ? respect, cooperation and self-esteem ? that will serve them well as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.

The children will use the skills throughout their lives as they go to dances and weddings, educators said. In December, they will end the 10-week class by performing for the Osborn retirement community in Rye.

Fifth-grader Joe Nickerson said the steps can be used to fake out an opponent by dribbling back and forth on the court. "It's kind of like playing basketball," Joe said.

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