CHEYENNE — The Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne is once again hosting its annual Dancing with the Stars fundraiser next weekend.
The fundraiser will take place on Friday, Sept. 27, at 5 p.m. at the Event Center at Archer.
The theme for its ninth year will be the “Roaring Twenties,” so get ready for an evening featuring all things feathers, flappers and jazz.
The event comes at a coincidental time, as “Dancing with the Stars” the TV show just began its 33rd season on Tuesday. This season of “Dancing with the Stars” will have celebrity dancers like Joey Graziadei, the most recent bachelor on “The Bachelor,” professional basketball player Dwight Howard, Tori Spelling from “Beverly Hills, 90210” and more.
Just like in “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC, there will be pairs of two in the local event, one of whom is a professional dancer. Unlike the show, though, the event will only be one night, have elimination rounds and instead of celebrity dancers, it’ll be members of the community. There will be six teams of two dancing, but instead of competing for the Mirrorball Trophy, they’re competing for donations. All of the funds earned through voting, along with any profits made through ticket sales, will go directly to the efforts of the Boys & Girls Club.
The lineup of professional and “celebrity” dancers will be David Urquidez from Dance Spirit Studio paired with Dr. Alana Workman from the Cheyenne Regional Cancer Center; Michelle O’Hare from Act Two Studios paired with Mike Williams from Jonah Bank of Wyoming; Liam Sutton, an actor with True Troupe Theatre, paired with Alexis Garrett, the founder and CEO of Alexis Drake; Elizabeth Roof from En Avant Dance Studio paired with Stephen Fotiades from National Property Inspections and Big Horn Contracting; Jarrod Burton from Act Two Studios paired with Bailey Nowak from HUB International; and Heather Hansen from En Avant Dance Studio paired with Claudius Duncan Jr. from JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The teams have been rehearsing together since the end of June. Melissa Johnson, the community impact coordinator from the Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne, said, “We’ll teach the celebrity dancers how to dance. A couple of them already knew how to, but most of the time, we are literally teaching them (the basics).”
Johnson also said that the way they choose the dance volunteers is “pretty strategic.” She told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, “A few of us look back at the last few years and see who comes to mind when we think about who’s had a huge impact on the club, and I think in a lot of different ways they all have (this year).”
Each dance team gets to pick their own song, and George Anadiotis from Rock on Wheels will help with all of the sound. All they have to do is relay it back to Johnson so that there’s no duplicates.
The panel of judges will contain five members in the community of the club’s choosing, and then they also have a professional judge who will come to assist. The way the dancers win is by getting the most funds and donations through the “People’s Choice” vote, which is $1 a vote on CDWTS24.givesmart.com or by texting “CDWTS24” to 76278. The judges’ decisions are also factored in.
The event will start with a cocktail hour at 5 p.m., and the competition will commence at 6:30. There’s also a Kids Dance that Johnson and Justin Pendleton, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club, helped choreograph with 12 of the club’s members. And since the event is a fundraiser, there’s going to be a live auction paired with a ‘20s-style dinner.
On top of all of that, Johnson said that Pendleton will give a speech about what’s going on in the club for the new year and reveal a “pretty big announcement.” Although she didn’t say what the announcement will be, she did say that since it’s such a big deal for the club, they may stream the event on their social media and YouTube channel this year.
Unfortunately, the event sold out a little over a week ago, with tickets going for $150 for individuals and $2,500 for team sponsors. This year, more than 1,000 people will be in attendance, and according to Johnson, the Event Center at Archer will be filled to the brim. The event moved to Archer two years ago from Little America Hotel and Resort, but they would like to entertain the idea of looking for an even bigger venue if the turnout continues to thrive.
“It’s a good problem to have, for sure,” said Johnson. “I think this event builds up every year and has been something that everyone wants to come to. It’s not your typical gala, you know. It’s an event, there’s something to watch, and there’s live entertainment from community members that a lot of people know, and that’s so cool.”
