By Shelley Bennett
For the last six months, twelve of Lassen County’s busiest people have been even busier learning dances, practicing tricks, and fund raising for a night of bringing awareness to domestic violence in our county. Dancing for a Brand New Me is in less than a month (October 22nd and 23rd) and it’s crunch time for this army of volunteers led by Event Coordinator Carla Dollar.
Each couple will perform a dance from a specific decade, a genre of ballroom dance, and dancer’s choice to follow the theme “Survivor”. While you might automatically think of local celeb Ben Wade with that reference, the word survivor can also be applied to most of us.
Through the challenges of Covid, fires, evacuations, a possible prison closure, and other natural disasters, we have all demonstrated resilience and grace under pressure. These volunteers have taken that grace and put it to music.
Suzanne Peery, warden at CCC, is dancing with pro Alexander McElrath. This dancing duo will impress the audience with a Soul Train vibe to “September”, a “Smooth” Cha Cha, and finish the evening with a contemporary number to “Someday Soon”.
Alex is proud to “[get] to all three dances before October” while Suzanne points out she has “learned the ‘death drop’ without dying.” They say the audience should watch for their “technique and energy level.”
Local realtor Melanie Westbrook is paired with pro Luke Peterson. They are working on their third dance and are excited to show off their lifts and “familiarity to the music and relatability of the dance.”
If you are familiar with Luke’s physicality and style of dance, you know that Melanie is probably perpetually dizzy after numerous spins and being turned upside down repeatedly.
John McGarva and partner Doria Dalu are immersed in perfecting the Foxtrot, Tango, and Swing. John says his biggest accomplishment is “learning how to jive kick for three months!” He has been challenged by the timing of props, body control, and Doria’s random changes. The audience should be prepared for an “awesome” jive number.
When LCC president Trevor Albertson had to step down, pro Celeste Wiser enlisted the help of her husband Casey to complete the competition. They’ll be dancing an 80’s tribute and Salsa, with Dancer’s Choice yet to be determined. (Casey just stepped in last week!) Celeste says Casey is “the best” for just joining this week.
Besides the challenge of a shorter rehearsal time, the Wiser’s two little girls want to join in every dance and so they are currently learning the salsa. Celeste says, “so it’s really a win!” Each dance has an emotion attached to it and Casey and Celeste are excited to share their vision with our community.
Lassen County’s Health and Social Services Director Barbara Longo is dancing with last year’s champ Seanne McElrath. The couple is dancing to a 60’s tribute, Tango, and “New Beginnings” for Dancer’s Choice.
Barbara says she has learned to trust in her choreographer and “slow down…and enjoy the dancing.” Each performance portrays an intricate relationship and the audience should focus on the interactions that help develop the story.
Local rancher Seth Anderson is partnered with pro Amanda Tannous. Their decade dance is to a “90’s sweet melody mash up”, followed by a Quick Step and Contemporary in the Survivor category. Seth has been working on his awesome 90’s dance moves and is sure to get into his different characters onstage.
Seth says his biggest accomplishment is “doing every step of this whole thing, yet still returning!” He also says he is proud to say he has a “left and right foot.”
Dancing for a Brand New Me is truly an artistic collaboration with Best of Broadway, Dance Elevation, J and J Performing Arts, and Joan’s Dance Studio. Dollar said she is so “fortunate to work with the most amazing humans who are willing to give their best for Lassen Family Services and Lassen County.”
Tickets will be available soon! They will be for sale at Lassen Family Services, and Margie’s Book Nook. Thank you to all the hard work and countless hours of these dedicated people, and many more behind the scenes, who work and plan year-round to produce this amazing fundraiser while bringing awareness to this worthy cause.
Remember when news was ‘newsy’? When you read about weddings, family events and engagement announcements in the newspaper? If you have something that might be newsworthy, please submit it to [email protected] and I’ll do my best to include it here in “The Good Stuff.”
