For two hours on Saturday night, the Gold Ballroom at the historic Tidewater Inn hosted ten local celebrity dancers and their professional partners in what would be called by some “The event of the year.” Two hundred and forty people came out to the sold-out inaugural Dancing for the Dogs event supporting the Talbot, Caroline and Dorchester Humane Societies.
This event was the culmination of over two years of planning and effort by local business owner and dance instructor Amanda Showell-Cook, who chaired the event along with local business owner and events planner Peggy Geisler the co-chair and a dedicated board of local volunteers. The event was a take-off of the popular “Dancing with the Stars” television show. “We wanted to create a fun event that would not only raise money,” said Event Chair Amanda Showell-Cook, “but also awareness for the animals of the mid-shore”
The local celebrities who participated in the event included: Amy Haines, Carole Sasiela, Corey Pack, Dr. Carolyn Helmly, Dr. Dean Tyson, Dr. Murray Sarubin, Jamie Merida, Marcus Bethman, Matt Spence, and Victoria Jackson-Stanley. Each local celebrity practiced with a local professional dancer for 8 weeks prior to the event.
The celebrities would compete for one of three awards; The People’s Choice award based upon community and audience votes, The Judges Choice which was based upon the score for dancing performance, and the Grand Champion which was a combination of the high score in both categories. This year’s judges were Don Andrew (President of USA Dance Chapter 6099), Al Silverstein (Talbot County Chamber of Commerce), and Meg Olmert (Emmy Award winning producer).
Winners of the competition were:
People Choice Award: Carole Sasiela, local philanthropist and her professional dance partner Darryl Calloway.
Judges Choice Award: Jamie Merida, owner of Bountiful Casual Elegance and his professional dance partner Lucia Calloway
Grand Champion: Amy Haines, owner of Out of the Fire restaurant and her professional dance partner Diego Guzman
The event raised in excess of $70,000 to benefit three local humane societies. The Board would like to thank the following sponsors for helping make this event possible and such a success; The Tidewater Inn, Sasiela and Associates, Out of the Fire, WCEI Radio, Peninsula Roofing, ASAP Printing, Data Obsessions, Troika Gallery, Joanne Shipley Graphic Design, Dunks Photo, Marsh Video Productions, Seasonal Flowers, Steve Moody Productions and of course our partner USA Dance Easton Chapter 6099 for allowing us this opportunity.
Requests have already started coming in for next year’s event and several well-known community members have already come forward to express their interest in competing in next year’s event. “The response over this year’s event has been overwhelming,” said Peggy Geisler, Event Co-Chair, “We appreciate the community’s enthusiasm and support of the animals.”
Additional performances were provided by Talbot Tappers, Eastern Shore Dance Academy, Mid–shore Dance Academy, Kim Kilmer and her service dog seaweed.
Special thanks to Jimmy Hoppa from WBOC-TV, who helped orchestrate the evening as our Master of Ceremonies.
For additional information on the event and news regarding the 2013 Dancing for the Dogs, please visit their website at www.dancingforthedogs.com.
.
Ron Sasiela says
It was a wonderful evening to watch unfold. Yes, it was a SOLD OUT crowd and rumors of tickets filtering into Easton’s black market could not be confirmed!
During the pre-competition social hour one could hear the whispers as to who THEY thought, based on perhaps some clandestine eaves watching, were the potential “people to beat” in the competition. Some dancers even had cover ups OVER their costumes to add the maximum level of excitement and surprise to the eagerly awaiting three-judge dance panel and audience! It took some extra effort on the part of the committee and skilled M. C. Jimmy Hoppa to have them all seated by the 7 PM first-act starting time. Some attendees did not want to leave their coveted spot at the signup silent auction tables – lest someone else swoop in to claim their favorite item(s). As each of the ten contestants was introduced for their number by Hoppa, the excitement of the crowd grew even louder with eager applause for each. However, once their selected sound track hit the room’s speakers ALL eyes stayed glued to the couples as they release all that two-months-of-practice energy to the PACKED house. The Tidewater Inn’s Gold Ballroom may aptly be renamed The Gold Alloy Ballroom as it appeared to flex and swell from the crowd’s synchronized-to-music clapping!
The intermission allowed the remaining contestants to perhaps reassess their own dance routines, but with no practice time, one can only imagine that it spurred them on to execute it flawlessly. Having a wife as a contestant was a special treat and seeing her take one of the three awards was wonderful, especially after knowing all the (nearly 40) hours that she and Darryl Callaway rehearsed – for a mere 2:11 minute performance!
The Humane Societies and their pets have many supportive individuals who helped make this the social “Event of the Year”. A loud THANK YOU to them all.
Christie Bishop says
We LOVED it!!!! So much fun for my favorite cause. As a former volunteer with Talbot Humane, I can say that the funds will be put to good use caring for those who can’t care for themselves. I am a true dog lover; dogs are good for my soul & blood pressure. My husband & I will definitely support/attend this event next year.
Pamela Bishop says
It’s all in the family! I thought it was going to be a fun evening but it far exceeded my expectations.
We were swept up in the enthusiasm of the crowd and whooped and shouted and applauded for
the dancers. Five minutes into the show we were already planning a table of friends for next year.
A fantastic evening for a very worthy cause. And yeah, Carole! I’m so proud of you!
Rick Fahey says
Kathy and I are avid dancers and our roofing company was one of many great sponsors. We have been to several similar events. There was something special between the dancers and the audience that made this one seem more personal and more fun. We had a great time. Congradulations on a wonderful event
Rick and Kathy Fahey