Local celebrities and their professional dance partners thrilled the crowd at the annual Dancing with the Easter Seals starts event in front of a packed house at the Caruso Club on Friday night.
A team of celebrity judges – former Mayor Marianne Matichuk, Stephanie Piché, owner of Legacy Events and Catering, and dance instructor Dr. Robert Masih – rated the performances of eight couples, each made up of one celebrity and once professional dancer. Jaime P. of Rewind 103.9 was the master of ceremonies.
The dance partners this year were:
-- Darlene Palmer, director of development with Cambrian College, who was partnered with Dennis Harasymchuk, owner of Ballroom Dance Studios;
-- G-Rant, morning show host with Hot 93.5, who partnered with Miranda Waugh, a LU Kinesiology student who has been dancing since age two;
-- Pierre Bonhomme, film crew development officer for Northern Ontario at Cultural Industries Ontario North, who partnered with ballroom dancer Toni Calabrese;
-- Lisa Lounsbury, president and founder of New Day Wellness and columnist for Northern Life, who partnered with Charles Larose, a concrete industry worker who also teaches ballroom and Latin dance;
-- Edwina Rudolph, owner/operator/instructor of Zen Fitness, who partnered with Jeff Kuhn, who has studied dance for 10 years;
-- Marie Whitehead, advertising account manager for Sudbury Living Magazine (sister publication of Northern Life), who partnered with Bob Leduc, a 23-year veteran of Latin and ballroom dance;
-- Shawn McLaren, a local comedian who is currently working with Jiminez Productions and Cinéfest Sudbury, who partnered with Samantha Collard, a teacher at Dance Evolution; and,
-- Jean Cotnoir, director of marketing and recruitment for College Boréal, who partnered with Angela Pepin, whose background is in ballet, jazz and tap dancing.
It was a close competition, but the winner was Rudolph and Kuhn, followed by Lounsbury and Larose and third-place finishers G-Rant and Waugh.
Dancing with Easter Seals Stars raises money for children with physical disabilities, helping to provide mobility equipment and communication devices to families who require additional help and support. The 2015 local ambassadors were Kimberly Chiasson, 14, a passionate champion for disability awareness; and Alex Day, 11, who weighed just two pounds, five ounces when he was born at 27 weeks of age, but who has overcome several medical challenges and now attends regular school.
Presented by Norman Piché & Associates, Private Wealth Management, the evening began with a cocktail hour, hors d’oeuvres and wine tasting, before the dancers took the floor. Anyone who wants to donate to the Easter Seals fundraiser can do so online at www.easterseals.org/dancing-with-easter-seals-stars-sudbury.
