I have to admit I don’t watch the hit ABC TV show Dancing with the Stars but I get the appeal: minor celebrities from the worlds of sitcoms, sports, and music wearing skimpy outfits and doing their damnedest to wow the judges with their over-the-top dance routines. We as viewers imagine ourselves in their dancing shoes, showing off our new moves, perhaps becoming temporary sensations through viral YouTube videos. Who among us hasn’t dreamed of being crowned a dancing queen (or the Tony Manero of the new millennium?)
Even Brookline is getting in on the dance competition craze, but in the case of the 2nd Annual Dancing with the Brookline Stars, presented by the Brookline Rotary, it’s not merely accolades the contestants are seeking—it’s money for their favorite charities. 7 dancers from the Brookline community will compete on Nov. 8 at Our Lady of Annunciation Church, 7 VFW Parkway in West Roxbury, in support of charities that include The Brookline Senior Center, Steps to Success, The Brookline Mental Health Center, Artsbridge, and The Brookline Green Space Alliance. The event will also help support The Brookline Emergency Food Pantry and Coop, End Polio Now, and Brookline High School scholarships.
One dancer, Elaine Shannon, chose a charity she said was “very close to my heart”—the Kids Clothes Club.
“I co-founded it about 25 years ago with my friend Faith Michaels,” Shannon said, “We raise money and buy new warm jackets for children. No overhead, strictly volunteer board and staff so all the money we raise is spent on providing coats to those who need them.”
When asked why she chose to raise money by competing in a dance contest, Shannon answered, “I love to dance. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you some story of me busting a move as soon as I hear music. And when Elias (Elias Audy, Membership Chair, Board Advisor of the Rotary) asked me I practically pirouetted at the chance.”
Dancing with the Brookline Stars contestants spend months taking lessons at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Dedham. Owner Renzo Aida said he welcomes the opportunity to work with local organizations whose work benefits the community.
“Over the past five years we have developed relationships with several organizations, including the Brookline Rotary, that run similar fundraising events. They reached out to us last summer for the first DWTBS based on a recommendation from another organization with whom we had worked.
“Seeing someone with no previous dance training come in and learn not just to dance, but to perform in front of hundreds of people, is unbelievable. You can’t help but be proud of every contestant (and their teacher) in this event,” Aida added.
Dancing with the Brookline Stars will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and will include hors d’oeuvres and desserts, courtesy of the VineRipe Grill. Ticket prices are $75pp for general seating and $125pp for a premium seat. You can choose the dancer/charity who will receive the proceeds from your ticket sale when you order your tickets.
Renzo urged residents from Brookline and other surrounding communities to come out for the show, “The quality and level of the performers is just as good as what you see on TV.”
Most of the dancers in this local competition aren’t necessarily used to being in front of crowds and cameras.
“I am a little nervous,” dancer Elaine Shannon admitted, “but I’m mostly excited and I’m having so much fun at Fred Astaire. I hope I will be able to get past the nerves and be in the moment.
“One thing I HAVE learned about myself is…I don’t have to lead all the time.”
—By Jennifer Campaniolo, BrooklineHub.com
