Yolanda Ritsema
Big Brothers Big Sisters Kincardine & District
519-396-3565
yolanda.ritsema@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 16, 2021
Dancing with the Stars Line Up Revealed
Kincardine, ON: It’s official: the lineup for Dancing with the Stars, Big Brothers Big Sisters Kincardine’s fundraising dance competition event, is here!
Just like the TV show, Dancing with the Stars will feature seasoned dancers paired with community ‘celebrities’ who have little or no dance experience. You might even recognize some of them as your friends, neighbours or colleagues.
On October 29, the following dance pairs will compete in Dancing with the Stars at the Kincardine Pavilion: Sally Ballard and Barry Neilson; Alana Rosen and Murray Needham; Karen Malisani and John Binnendyk; Karen Yun and Herb Runstedler; and Jaki Duggan and Benjamin Hearn.
The event will be emceed by John Low while dancers aim to impress judges Mike Renchek, Carole Weber and Courtney Nelson.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the dance pairs only have a few months to prepare their dance routines – a short amount of time for seasoned dancers to learn a routine, let alone teach an inexperienced dancer the basics of footwork.
“Our dancers are bravely putting themselves out there for a good cause,” said Linda Johnson, Dancing with the Stars Team Captain. “They’re going to be learning a completely new skill from scratch, training to compete on October 29. This is no small feat and we’re incredibly proud of them and all the hard work our dance pairs are putting in to make this an exciting evening.”
Dancing with the Stars is a main fundraiser for BBBS Kincardine.
“The pandemic made many of our regular fundraising opportunities impossible,” said Yolanda Ritsema, Executive Director of Big Brother Big Sisters of Kincardine & District. “Dancing with the Stars is not only going to be a great event, but a much needed opportunity to raise funds for Big Brothers and Big Sisters Kincardine to continue our work in the community.”
The event will be both virtual and in person, with dancers competing and being judged live at the Pavilion on October 29.
Tickets will be available in the coming weeks – stay tuned to BBBS Kincardine’s social media and website for updates!
Background:
Dancing with the Stars debuted as a BBBSKD fundraiser in 2019, and plans for a 2020 event were postponed due to Covid-19. While some of BBBSKD’s usual fundraising opportunities have been unable to operate as a result of Covid-19, Ritsema and her team of volunteers have been able to successfully transition Dancing with the Stars to a combined live/virtual event, providing a much-needed fundraising opportunity for BBBSKD.
Local ‘celebrities’ have been paired with seasoned dancers to perform two prepared dance routines as they compete to win top place from judges Michael Rencheck, Jessica Brown, and Carole Weber.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters Kincardine & District: A youth organization that specializes in enabling life-changing mentoring relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people in our community.
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