BRAINERD — Have you ever imagined yourself in the shoes of your favorite dancing reality show star?
Eight couples and other featured dancers will show off their talents Thursday, April 20, at the Northern Pacific Center in Brainerd as part of the Dancing with the Lakes Area Stars. This event in its fourth year is the major annual fundraiser for Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity.
Ruth Ann Veith, one of the organizers, said it’s a unique fundraiser involving nearly a yearlong commitment from dancers taking private lessons to learn choreographed routines. Proceeds from the performance funded a Habitat for Humanity home last year, Veith said.
“She was able to get into her home before Christmas,” she said during the Thursday, April 6, KAXE Morning Show. “Her first comment to me was for the first time ever, I can have my family home for Christmas. So that’s what the dance event does. It's a great event to watch. Amazing performances. But the ultimate goal is, we raise money to change a family's life forever.”
KAXE News Director Chelsey Perkins and her partner Nate Himley are returning alumni in this year’s show. It’s their third fundraiser dancing together as studio dancers with Spirit Movement Dance Studio in the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd. The couple said they’re hooked on dance lessons.
“The whole battle is just getting to the door. That's the scariest part,” Himley said. “And after that it's just — the environment is absolutely perfect.”
Perkins and Himley both work from home, and the lessons serve as date night and a reason to leave the house in the wintertime.
“We go and hang out with our friends Oscar and Michelle (Gonzalez) and it's like a stress reliever, and it's just a time for us to spend a few minutes not thinking about the outside world and just enjoying each other, having some laughs,” Perkins said. “ … The best part is that it all ends with this great event that raises money for people, our neighbors, who need some better shelter. And everyone deserves that.”
“Her first comment to me was for the first time ever, I can have my family home for Christmas. So that’s what the dance event does."Ruth Ann Veith
Veith said opportunities remain to sponsor the event and tickets are available at lakesareahabitat.org, where you can also show your support for one of the star couples with donations in their name. Hosted by the Greater Lakes Association of Realtors, the event includes social hour and hors d’oeuvres 5:30-6:30 p.m. with performances beginning 6:45 p.m. April 20.
“This is not that typical wedding dance. So this is choreographed. Very, very professional,” Veith said. “ … There's no chicken dance there. Well, at least not this year.
“I can't say enough for the amount of time that these couples and the dancers put into this. It’s a huge commitment on their part, but … they’ve said it's worth the uncomfortable, putting themselves out there on stage in front of 400 people performing. Because they know they can make a difference and that's what we're all about here.”
Veith said she and her husband would also take the stage at the event, dancing a two-step swing to “Blue Suede Shoes” by Elvis Presley.
For more on the songs and fashion choices of the evening, listen to the full segment above.
Star couples
- Deb Hallbeck and Ron Irving,
- Greg and Jolen Parks,
- Mike and Kay Paulus,
- Neal and Breanna McCafferty,
- Andrew Ostlund and Kim Bolz-Andolshek,
- Wes and Jilian Wagner,
- Patrick and Sara Sundberg, and
- Travis and Kandice Koch.