This isn't your parents' P.E. class: Nancy Young turns to hip-hop

Just before winter break, students at Nancy Young Elementary are rewarded with a dance party.

Typically, students use that time to show off the classical and folk dancing moves they learned in the previous physical education unit. At the next dance though, physical education teacher Roberto Maldonado expects they'll be looking to try out some new hip-hop moves.

JC Renzetti, from Naperville's Xtreme Dance Force, spent an entire day last week teaching age-appropriate hip-hop moves to each of the school's P.E. classes.

"So many children have never even been exposed to the art of dance, much less dance classes, so we're just hoping to expose them to something new," said Renzetti, who recently opened a new dance studio in the Cress Creek Shopping Center. "Most people feel better from dancing, too, because they get to express themselves. Obviously different ages here will experience different things, but it's all positive energy."

And it doesn't hurt that some of the older students recognized Renzetti from his dance team's recent exposure as a finalist on Randy Jackson's "America's Best Dance Crew" show on MTV.

At the end of each class, Renzetti gave the students a chance to feel some of the same pressure he encountered on the show by setting them up in boys-vs.-girls dance-offs featuring their newly acquired moves.

"We kicked (the boys') butts and had fun in gym class," said fifth-grader Taylor Moran. "It'd be fun if every gym class could be like this."

Maldonado said he's working on it, and hopes to include more hip hop in his future dance units.

"They have fun with it and it keeps them moving and burning energy," he said. "I'm hoping to find a way to work more of it in."