Ballroom Dance Team to Present Holy Cross’ Version of ‘Dancing with the Stars’

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross Ballroom Dance Team will present the Holy Cross version of ABC’s popular reality show "Dancing with the Stars" on May 1 at 7 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom. The event, only open to the Holy Cross community, is $3 in advance for students and $5 for the rest of the community. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $5.

Proceeds will go to Jesuit Volunteer Corps South, which seeks to help rebuild the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans.

Like the television version, the show will feature dances from a professional dancer with a paired celebrity star. The professionals will be members of the Holy Cross Ballroom Dance team and the "celebrities" will be members of the Holy Cross faculty and staff. Each couple will perform one dance in front of the audience and a panel of professional judges. The judges will narrow down the couples to two and the audience will then vote to decide the winner.

The celebrities were selected by student nominations. The celebrities were then paired with a member of the Ballroom Dance team and a dance was chosen. Dancing the tango will be Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College, and Jessica Spink ’06 and Jamie Herrick, senior lab supervisor in the chemistry department, and Nathan Campbell ’08. Science librarian Tony Stankus ’73 and Loyola Pasiewicz ’08 will be dancing the rumba along with Melissa Boyle ’00, assistant professor of economics, and Raul Portillo ’06. Blaise Nagy, professor of classics, and Danielle Hughes ’06 will be dancing swing against Kimball Chef Charles Manyak and Rachel Mergens ’07. Each couple has been rehearsing for the past few weeks.

Judges will be Mike Creeden ’03, a gold level ballroom competitor; Rob Molt ’07, three years experience on the ballroom team; Esther Levine, assistant dean of the Class of 2006; and Pat Connolly. Hosts will include Mikaele Porter ’08 and Gary Jacobik, an instructor at Arthur Murray Studio. Both Connolly and Jacobik are the Holy Cross Ballroom Dance Team’s coaches.

The Ballroom Dance Team is a student-run organization under the guidance of Edward Soares, associate professor of mathematics. The Ballroom Dance Team members handle all aspects of the production — from the planning to the final show. Caitlin Smith ’06 and Nathan Campbell ’08 are the co-chairs of the event and are responsible for all of the planning and execution. Janet Rose Kolodziej ’06 is in charge of publicity and the filming of all the rehearsals. Students Jessica Spink ’06, Danielle Hughes ’06, Raul Portillo ’06, Rachel Mergens ’07, Loyola Pasiewicz ’08 and Nathan Campbell ’08 are responsible for choreography of the routines as well as instruction.

Holy Cross "Dancing with the Stars" is suitable for all audiences. For press tickets or for more information, contact Janet Rose Kolodziej at jmkolo06@holycross.edu.