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Dancing with the South Stars finds success in its first run

 

MARISSA DAY ’14 | Academics Editor

Breaking out into moves unanticipated by the student body, Tom Schultz became the champion of the first ever Dancing with the South Stars (DWTSS) on Friday, March16.

He stunned the audience when he kicked off his routine with a motorcycle ride, follwed by an original dance routine with his instructor from the Arthur Murray School of Dance.

Other competitors in the event were math teacher Lisa Kurtz math; English teachers Meaghan Dunham, Danielle Peck and Dennis Pascoe; and science teacher Matt McGuire. The surprise member of DWTSS was Rich Etheridge, a well-known substitute teacher at South. 

The event was held by all four class councils, with sophomore class adviser Carrie Halliburton running the event. The classes partnerd with the Van Eslander Cancer Center to run the program. Both the councils and Van Eslander were excited in preparing for DWTSS, Halliburton said.

Schultz had been emailed by Halliburton to participate in DWTSS but dismissed the idea right away, he said.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘My wife would like for me to do this, but I’ll pass,” said Schultz, “I thought it was a great idea, but I didn’t want to do it.”

His act which included a routine to Rihanna’s song “Disturbia,” was a combination of surprise, popular dance moves, and his dance moves, which he didn’t have a lot of hope for, said Schultz. He and his wife are big fans of the actual “Dancing with the Stars” program, and his dance was inspired by a similiar performance from Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer’s gothic twist to the song, Schultz said .

“I only chose the song,” said Schultz. “Everything else was someone else’s idea.”

In the opening part of his dance, Schultz rode in on a motorcycle, an idea he got from talking to a hall monitor during lunch. Unlike teachers Dunham and Kurtz who have dance backgrounds, Schultz was worried no one would like his performance because he didn’t have any outstanding ‘moves’ for his dance. The hall monitor suggested he ride in on his motorcycle.

Photo by CARRIE HALLIBURTON | Sophomore Class Adviser. Dancing with the South Stars gather together with their professional dance partners to take a group photo before the show

Halfway through the routine, and only a few weeks before the performance, one of Schultz’s students told him to get the student vote, he “had to do the Dougie,” Schultz said. Although he had never heard of it, Schultz thought it would better his chances of winning and asked his partner if she could incorporate it into their routine, which they did.

Schultz is known for his push-up competitions among his classes, and once again, wanted to incorporate something that would help make his dance more successful. His partner suggested they use his athleticism to their advantage, and thus, the push-ups came into play.

“I’m athletic; I’m well-coordinated,” said Schultz, “I told her, ‘Hopefully you can come up with something.'”

Watching the teachers’ performances wasn’t the only thing people could do. There were raffles for anyone to enter and a bake sale, both of which lasted during the performances. Margaret Bove ’14, one of student council members who worked the bake sale, was surprised and pleased with the turn out to the event.

“The most exciting part was seeing it (DWTSS) all come together.” said Bove. “We had a larger turnout than I thought there would be. (It was fun) just seeing the crowd react to the teachers.”

About 450 tickets were sold for the event, 50 fewer than their intended goal. There were 35 tables that they rented for the event and 23 were pre-reserved at $90 each. The overall profit of DWTSS still has to be calculated, but everyone was pleased with how well the program went and how much was raised, Halliburton said.

Because DWTSS was a success, they will be hosting it next year, Halliburton said. Plans for the next chapter of it are already in the works. Teachers have already asked if they could be a part of it and there are other charities who have contacted Halliburton.

None of the teachers that competed this year will be returning next year but they may have Schultz comeback and dance an encore.

“It was fun. Would I do it again? Sure,” said Schultz. “It was a blast.”

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