Marissa Day ’14 | Managing Editor

Taking center stage on Friday night, English teacher Sandra McCue took home first place and wowed the audience at South’s second annual “Dancing with the South Stars.” McCue danced a variation of the meringue and competed with four other staff members for the championship.

“I went from really, literally never having done any ballroom dancing, so I didn’t think there was even a chance,” said McCue. “I’m very thrilled.”

Dancing with the South Stars features staff members of South who work with professional dance partners from the Arthur Murray School of Dance. The pairs compete to win first place, and the event raises money for class councils as well as a charity they choose to work with.

The event raised $2,000 which will be split between Beaumont Hospital and South, Halliburton said. The partnership went well and without them, the councils couldn’t have afforded a bigger dance floor.

“It’s going to be 50/50 so half of it will go to Beaumont and half of it will stay here to be split between the classes.”

By participating in the event, McCue said it has helped her to be able to take on more challenges head-on. Dancing with the South Stars allowed her to realize that there are always new activities to try.

“I ended up much more successful than I could have ever imagined,” said McCue. “I didn’t think it was going to go this well. I think it just kind of encourages me to look for more challenges like that and remember that there are always new challenges to be done and things that I can learn.”

For McCue’s students Rachel Montgomery and Christina Koehler, both ’14, seeing McCue dance was both a surprise and a moment of pride for them. They were not expecting her to be as committed and talented as she was, and her win allowed them to see her in a new perspective.

“I was so proud of her; I freaked out and gave her a hug,” said Koehler. “All of us totally thought she would do well but not as well as like Ms. Spada.”

Montgomery agrees, and found that she was proud of McCue to step out of her comfort zone and take on the challenge of dancing in front of the community.

“I was really excited for her because of the fact she’s a little more timid and less of a dancer,” said Montgomery.

Carrie Halliburton, the class of 2014 adviser, said the event went spectacularly. The feedback from everyone was great, and there were next to no problems with how the event ran, she added.

“There’s always going to be little hiccups along the way with an event like this but you just keep rolling and all-and-all I think it went fabulously,” said Halliburton.

Beaumont Hospital worked as a partner with the councils to host the event this year. They had various information tables set up around the gym to promote cardiovascular fitness in everyday life.

Spanish teacher Christine Spada, who also competed in the event along with Chris Booth, Courtney McGuire and Doug Roby, was excited for McCue’s win. Although the staff competed against each other to win, there was a general feeling of camaraderie  throughout the process.

“I’m so happy for Mrs. McCue,” said Spada in an e-mail. “We went through this exciting journey together and I’m so proud of her for taking home the win! She worked very hard and deserved it!”

For next year’s dance, McCue said she would readily help with the event. It was both a fun and creative way to give back to the school and allowed people to see another side of the teachers.

“I think we all were in agreement that it was a fun event to participate in and that we would definitely do it again given the opportunity,” said McCue.