A roster of local talent performed on the Martinsville High School stage last week, as Dancing For The Arts got underway on March 9. Hosted by Piedmont Arts, the event was split into two parts: assigned dances and freestyle dances, with an intermission between.
By the end of the night, Heidi Pinkston, executive director of Piedmont Arts, announced that more than $70,000 was raised for Piedmont Arts. Tekela Redd, service center director at the Salvation Army, and Pres Garrett, owner of Starling Avenue Cards & Comics won the grand prize, which is awarded to the team that both raised the most money and got the highest number of points from the judges.
Anna Wheeler, program coordinator at the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA), and Jacob Frith, who is part of the Lester Group management program, won the judges award for scoring the most points. The impact award for the most money raised went to Jewell Drewery, a realtor at Rives S. Brown and the vice chairman of Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC) Board of Directors, and Ouss Sahar, SSC unit director for custodial services at Henry County Schools.
Along with the winners, other contestants included Bonnie Favero, preventative program manager at Piedmont Community Services, and Damian Wainwright, Magna Vista JROTC Army Instructor.
Jamie Turner, marketing director at King’s Grant, and Justin Kline, theater teacher at Bassett High School. Anna Hatchett, an art teacher at Henry County Schools, and Louis Campbell, a basketball coach at Martinsville City Schools. Jennie Rabon, office manager at Rabon Law Firm, PLLC, and Bobby LaPrade, Stone Dynamics and owns Extreme Martial Arts in Eden. Claudia Graham, office manager for Martinsville Surgical Associates, and Spencer Koger, executive director of the Uptown Partnership.
The 2022 champions, Joyce Staples and Josh Bires-Grodensky, also returned for a ‘Give it Up Dance’ before the awards.
The teams were each instructed by one of four dancing coaches, Stacey Davis, Janeka Hairston, Marlana Lackey, Jane Leizer, and Catherine Rodenbough. Three judges commented on the event. They were Sarah Hodges, director of Tourism; Devin Pendleton, Patriot Players program director at P&HCC; and Pedro Szalay, Artistic Director at Southwest Virginia Ballet. Natalie Hodge, the owner and founder of Rudy’s Girl Media, was the host for the night, and Terry Mitchell from Studio 107 designed the mirror ball trophies presented to contestants.
Votes were placed when members of the community donated a dollar to their favorite team’s name. Every dollar donated counted for one vote, with the exception of Piedmont Arts members, who received two votes per dollar. Voting took place online leading up to the event, and attendees could vote for their favorite team up to the program’s intermission completed. The judges observed each team through both rounds and gave scores at the end of each dance. At the end of the night, the scores were tallied to select the winners.
Snacks and drinks were being sold at the event to benefit Martinsville High School’s Prom.
Some of the dances seen at the event included the Foxtrot, Waltz, and Quick-Step. During each round, the contestants dressed up in costumes designed to draw more attention to their performance. While these costumes were more traditional in the first half, the second half let the team’s creativity flow. The teams dressed up in a variety of styles that paid homage to different time periods and trends.
Hatchett and Cambell dressed up in Martinsville High School sports uniforms to pay homage to the school, while Redd and Garrett dawned hip-hop costumes.
Well-known music, such as Gloria Estefan’s “Conga,” was used as the dancing tracks. The audience often cheered loudly for the teams and laughed at the commentary from the judge’s table.
If you missed the opportunity to attend this year’s event, organizers said it will return in 2025.
