(Photo Credit Ron Holden)OK, so yesterday's Kickoff Event for Dancing with the Brunswick Stars happened. It was a big success. I got to meet my dancing partner, professional dance instructor Kimberly Boggs along with many of the other "Stars" and their "Pros". The actual competition and fundraising event will be on August 6th at the Dinah Gore Aquatics and Fitness Center at Brunswick Community College.
Yesterday's kickoff was at Odell Williamson Auditorium on the BCC campus. There were plenty of photographers and even a television station in attendance.
It was fun to meet the other dancers and get a feel for what this whole event will be like, but the most important was I finally got to learn the identity and meet my professional partner. I'd had a hint that Kimberly would be my partner, but it hadn't been confirmed. Kimberly is a longtime area resident who owned a dance studio in Southport for seven years. Kim is now in charge of the BCC dance team and also teaches at a local private dance studio.
It turns out we might have a bit in common. Linda Boretti, who's pretty much in charge of the dancer/partner arrangements, told Kim that I'd be a good match because I'd told Linda I like fast music and have lots of energy. So far it seems Linda made a good choice in putting us together. Kim has some great ideas. She's also at ease in being in control of our dance partnership and clearly in charge - and that's a good thing since I can be a pain to manage, mostly because I can't sit still. So I'm looking forward to this process - Kim even suggested we make some videos during our rehearsals like they do on the TV show this competition is (sorta) modeled after, so that works for me!
Below is a shot of some of the other dancers (a mix of Stars and Pros) arriving at Odell Williamson.
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Here's a shot of Kimberly with BCC President Dr. Stephen Greiner. Kim had just asked if it was okay for us to use one of the dance rooms at the fitness/aquatic center to practice and he said that's fine. That's convenient for both of us.
Prior to the announcement of the dancing partners (each duo came down some winding steps - I have no photos of that because I was on the steps), a small combo entertained.
Here's another shot of Kimberly and me in front of a Hollywood Stars backdrop. The theme of this year's event is Hollywood.
Photographer Ron Holden taking a shot of some of the many BCC staff and DWTBS organizers.
Below are dance instructor Paul McTaggert and his partner Dinah Gore. This couple won the competition for the past two years and are back. Both are very nice people, it's going to be a pleasure working with them, even though I won't actually see them much before the actual competition.
Here's a short video clip of Kimberly Boggs introducing herself and talking about the competition (oops, I mean the fundraiser).
And here's a slightly longer clip of me talking about the same thing, with one difference (you have to watch and listen to find out what it is).
This event and practicing for it and meeting and getting to know the people involved is going to be a blast. I'm looking forward to it and glad we finally got underway. I don't think we start rehearsing for a few weeks but I'll keep up these posts when we do.
Don't forget, August 6th. It's a great fundraiser for a super cause, raising scholarship money for Brunswick Community College. Last year's event raised more than $300,000! Let's top that this year.
- Brown Out
