You don’t have to be a D-list celeb. You won’t be dressing up like the Bride of Chucky. And you don’t have to worry about the judges referring to you as a cute and cuddly Ewok. Probably.
But if you’d like to learn to dance, lose more weight than Kirstie Alley, or already dance better than the stars and want to support a great cause, you may want to sign up for the Delaware County Gaels’ “Dancing Like a Star” fundraiser which will be held at the Springfield Country Club on February 24.
That’s next year, so why are we telling you about it now? There’s only room for eight couples on the dance floor, and you’re going to have to practice, practice, practice, says Anna Bonner, who is handling public relations for the event.
And you need to raise your hand fast. More than 100 people were nominated as contestants and they have until November 9 to sign up, which gives you non-nominated folks a chance to throw your dancing shoes in the ring.
“This is something that has become really popular with the Irish GAA where it’s modeled on a show called ‘Strictly Dancing,’” say Bonner. “GAAs in San Francisco and New York have already done it and it was very successful.”
The Delco Gaels—a Gaelic Athletic Association club with more than 250 registered members—are hoping that the dance competition will help them raise enough money to send players to the Continental Youth Athletic Games championships in Chicago next year. More than 100 players from the Philadelphia-are club competed in the games when they were held in Boston last year, and the under-14 footballers brought home a trophy.
“With the economy the way it is, parents who would never have missed a CYC are concerned about the costs,” says Bonner.
The Gaels have also traveled to Ireland for the Feilie Na nGael, a competition for boys and girls under 14, sponsored by the GAA.
The club will be providing dance competitors with instructors and requiring a minimum of three hours a week of free instruction and practice. “It is a commitment,” says Bonner. “And if they want extra training, instructors will be available.”
Each couple will perform two dances. “They’ll all learn a waltz and either jive or swing,” Bonner says. “The third dance will be taught by an instructor from New York who specializes in ballroom dancing. But only the finalists will have to do that third dance.”
Don’t worry about clothes shopping. Each dancer will be given a costume, and hair and makeup are also provided.
“There’ll be a dress rehearsal a week prior to the event,” says Bonner. “We don’t want them to panic that night. It’s one thing to do it in a room with two people, another thing to do it in front of 300 people.”
If that doesn’t scare you off, contact the Delco Gaels at delcogaels@verizon.net and tell them you can dance, you can dance, everything’s out of control. Or something like that. See below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7movKfyTBII
