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dancingDancing with the Stars (of Northeast Wisconsin) returns

Dancing with the Stars on ABC national network television has rapidly become a major hit with American audiences since its introduction in 2005 and locally fans will be greeted with a show just for them, for a second year in a row on Sunday, Feb. 21.

Dancing with the Stars for the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter with DanceSport of Green Bay returns for a second year at a larger venue and with overwhelming excitement from attendees, organizers and performers.

Jody Weyers, volunteer and communications director for the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter, has been preparing for the event and hyping it almost since its conclusion last year.

“The event was a fantastic success! We raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Lakeland Chapter of the Red Cross and those funds are extraordinarily valuable to us.”
For those who may have missed the network and local shows, the premise is a dancing competition of a group of featured celebrities paired one-on-one with a dancing professional. The celebrities and their dance gurus square off for a round-by-round competition subject to the scoring of a panel of judges and for the enjoyment of the audience and viewers who also can cast votes.

While at this local presentation of Dancing with the Stars attendees will have the chance to participate in an auction for two seats at the May 10 show of the national Dancing with the Stars in Los Angeles. Trip includes tickets to the show, airfare and hotel accommodations. Needless to say, some lucky fan will be able to see just how our local celebrities match up in comparison to a national showcase in person.

Pitting these local celebrities against each other in this situation was a major hit for the Red Cross last year. Celebrity dancers, attendees and organizers are all passionate members of the community with a respect for the mission of the Red Cross efforts. Last year’s local celebrity winner, and recipient of the Mirror Ball Trophy was Scott King, senior vice president of Nicolet National Bank.

This year 10 new local celebrities, including radio personality David Burns of WIXX, television anchor Sarah Thomsen and sportscaster Chris Roth of WBAY-TV, will take to the stage at the Three Clans Ballroom at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center at Oneida Casino.

The local celebrities have been spending diligent training sessions preparing for this year’s event with their dancing partners from DanceSport of Green Bay.

Janet Gollnick, former Midwest champion and partner of television meteorologist George Graphos last year, has pledged the full support of her dance organization’s professionals to whip our local celebrities into dancing shape…well, as Chris Roth put it, “the perfect opportunity to overcome those two left feet.”

Interested in checking out just what is in store for the evening before attending? Check out arcdancingwithourstars.wordpress.com for regular blog entries, photos and video updates on the progress of the training and event news and updates.

Weyers promised that guests are in for a treat when the celebrities break for dinner hour after competition. Judge Ivan Seleznev, world-renowned dancer and former Russian National Champion, will be joined by his partner, as well as judges Rebecca and Daniel Messenger, in providing some fantastic professional dances throughout the dinner hour.

The latter couple, the Messengers, organize the Wisconsin State DanceSport Championships and own a U.S. Championship title as well. “The passion and active participation within the art and sport of dance that the Messengers share makes them regularly in high demand throughout the country and we’re extremely happy to have them be such a huge part of this event,” Weyers said.

Fans and attendees are encouraged to make a financial contribution to the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter and will receive a vote for their favorite participant as a result. Purchasing a ticket to the event gets you a vote as well as additional subsequent contributions.

Tickets for the evening event are $50 per person and corporate tables remain for $600 per table. Contact Mauree Childress, director of development at 920-227-4286 or visit arclakeland.org for full details of the event and ticket information.

This event sold out last year and will most likely do so again this year!

Don’t forget! Votes (contributions) are a donation to the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter and donors will receive a letter of acknowledgement in return for their tax-deductible gift. n