Eight Red Deer celebrities are about to dance off for charity on March 16.
The Red Deer Hospice Society has put a toe-tapping twist on its annual fundraising gala.
The gala will no longer feature the typical live and silent auction.
Instead the evening of glam and glitz will be based on the popular dance reality television series, Dancing with the Stars and will showcase the fancy footwork of eight local celebrities.
The male celebrities are Mayor Morris Flewwelling, Red Deer College president Joel Ward, Red Deer Fire Chief Jack MacDonald and Gil Valleé, general manager of the Capri Hotel, Trade & Convention Centre. The female contestants are Red Deer Rotary’s Citizen of the Year Kathy Lacey, Red Deer-North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski, Corine Sim of the Red Deer-based Chatters Salon and Debra Petty, a founding member of the hospice.
The eight dancers will be paired with eight professional instructors who will teach the city celebrities the moves in 10 hours of allocated instruction until March. The pairs will be taught dances from various genres. Like the television show, there will be three judges and the audience will be able to vote electronically. The winning duo will receive a trophy. The evening ends with a big band dance.
Christine Moore, gala co-chairperson, said the society thought it was time to shake things up to attract a wider audience.
“Although we’re changing the format we still have the same goal and that’s to raise money for this great cause,” she said.
Dancers will raise at least $10,000 for the hospice.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com
— copyright Red Deer Advocate