Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

Photos By eric zitz

Dancing with the professors

By Victoria Matthews

vamatthews@vwc.edu

Virginia Wesleyan’s Student Government came up with a whole new way to raise money this year. Spinning off the hit T.V. show “Dancing with the Stars,” the S.G.A. presented a night of “Dancing with the Professors.”

Management professor Linda Ferguson came to Associate Dean Lina Green in the early fall with the idea, and Green teamed up with donor Jennifer Bolduc, with whom she was involved in a studio, to put this production together. Green and Bolduc began choreographing with some of the couples in as early as September and October.

“The majority had no dancing experience,” said Green. “It was totally out of their comfort zone.”

The couples didn’t get to choose which dance they were going to perform. Each couple drew their dance from a hat which provided the options of: the foxtrot, swing, waltz, cha-cha, tango, salsa, rumba and samba. Couples also did not get to choose their costumes. Green found that the costume selection was the most challenging process for her.

“People have their own perception of what looks good on them,” Green said. “We went through several costume selection issues.”

The production also faced issues with the injury of theater professor Travis Malone, who was scheduled to swing dance with Allison Perry. Since Malone had to have surgery, Green stepped in to swing dance with Perry the night of the production.

Green was in charge of the production, dancing rumba and swing.

“The dancing did not bother me,” said Green. “But I had never been so involved in production before.”

Green could not sleep the night before, worrying about the show. She didn’t feel better until after the dress rehearsal, when she knew the show was actually going to come together and happen.

The night of the show, students, parents, faculty and staff filed into the Batten Center to see the show. As they came in, a slide show of pictures was playing on a screen to show the progress the participants had made.

The show began with Dr. Doug Kennedy and Bolduc acting as the masters of ceremony. The first couple to dance were Mavel Velasco, Spanish professor, and Wellinthom Munoz, Latin dance instructor, doing an exhibition of the Bachata. This dance was the couple’s first public dance ever.

“It’s a very romantic and sensual dance,” said Velasco.

The second couple to come out was Jason Seward, director of recreational sports, and Psychology major, Eileen De La Cruz, doing the foxtrot, a dance that stared in Baudville in 1800. The couple came out in matching pink and white outfits and displayed a great deal of enthusiasm. The crowd responded by cheering the steps and laughing at some of the quirky moments. After the dance was over, De La Cruz told the audience her nickname for Seward was “Twinkle Toes.”

After the waltz, Green and Perry came out in matching yellow, black and white polka-dotted outfits to dance swing, which, according to Bolduc, is “all in all an exciting and fun dance.” Malone made an appearance at the end, despite his injury.

After having a couple of upbeat performances, the show slowed down as Amy Dunleavy, head athletic trainer, and Matt Richardson, earth and environmental sciences major, danced the waltz, which was started in Austria during the 17th Century. This dance used to be considered indecent because of its turns and tight holds. The dance was particularly challenging for Richardson, who had no previous dance experience.

“I took a couple elbows to the head during practice,” he admitted.

The show took on a faster pace again as Ferguson came out with Nate Swann, political science and communications double-major, took the stage to dance the Cha-Cha, an offshoot of the Mambo. Furguson tossed off her jacket, revealing a black leotard. The crowd whooped and cheered to the witty performance the couple delivered.

After the Cha-Cha, Velasco returned to the stage to have a second performance with J.R. Ennis, international business and spanish double-major. The tango is a slow, Latin-style dance from Argentina.

“The footwork was the hardest to learn, because I am a clumsy person,” Ennis admitted to the audience after the dance was complete. Recreation and leisure instructor Wayne Pollock, along with Ali Southard, sociology major, took the stage to perform another Latin dance, the Salsa. The Salsa is a dance with lots of turns and shimmies. Pollock says his biggest challenge with this dance was “getting his feet to listen to his brain”, but his favorite part was getting to learn his own dance and the group dance.

“It’s what Wesleyan is all about,” said Pollock. “Faculty and students coming together for a common goal.”

Biology major and ice dancer Suzie Lazarowitz’s problem was not getting her feet to listen to her brain like Pollock, but rather getting used to the floor instead of the ice. Lazarowitz performed with philosophy professor Steven Emmanuel to the Rumba, which originated in Africa.

“My favorite part of all this was getting to integrate dance into my campus life,” said Lazarowitz.

Green returned to the stage in the last couple’s performance of the night to dance with criminal justice major Brandon Conner in the Samba, which originated in Brazil. The couple gave an upbeat performance to the song “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” by Big and Rich. Following Green and Connor’s performance, the dancers returned to the stage one last time for a group number. The audience showed its support with cheers.

“The audience was great,” Green said. “I wanted the audience to respond to the performers positively, and because they did, the dancers danced the best they’ve ever danced.”

The students enjoyed seeing their peers and professors come together in one big production.

“I was impressed by the professors, because I didn’t know they had that in them,” said freshman Sarah Zeiler.

Junior Nikole Bennett had been to all the rehearsals and saw the show develop.

“I loved it,” Bennett said. “It was interesting to see how far they’ve come from the beginning.”

The goal was to raise $1,000, but the S.G.A exceeded that goal by raising $2,104.22 from ticket sales and donations.

“I can’t put into words how much people helped,” Green said. “I just appreciate the help from the community.”

There is already talk of a second “Dancing with the Professors.” Green’s vision is to rotate eight faculty members so that it will stay “Dancing with the Professors” instead of “Dancing with the Staff.” One thing’s for sure: she enjoyed this year’s cast, and they will be a tough act to follow.

“I could not have asked for a better cast for the first show,” Green said. “They were fabulous.”