Dancing Stars

Magic Moves: 'Dancing with the Stars of Mentoring' marks 10th year

By Kelcy Dolan
Posted 5/12/16

If people who have never danced before can dazzle a crowd after only five months of professional mentoring, imagine what a mentor can do for a child.

“It’s amazing what a difference just being …

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Dancing Stars

Magic Moves: 'Dancing with the Stars of Mentoring' marks 10th year

Posted

If people who have never danced before can dazzle a crowd after only five months of professional mentoring, imagine what a mentor can do for a child.

“It’s amazing what a difference just being present can make,” said Jo-Ann Schofield, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership (RIMP). “We see a drastic change in these kids’ lives.”

Last Thursday night, May 5, RIMP hosted its 10th annual Dancing with the Stars of Mentoring at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston. Eight dancing pairs, made up of one professional dancer from The Dancing Feeling studio and one community leader, dueled it out on center stage to be this year’s winning couple.

The couples - Norina Laferriere and Jim Valkoun, Sira D’Arpino and Noah Carsten, Jeff Daw and Deborah O’Donnell, Amy Pontes and Anthony Scalzi, Ashley Case and Randy Deats, Michael Reed and Rachel Capodanno, Jeanne Hoxsie and Josh Morgenstein, and Jay Heimgartner and Briana Faiola - have been practicing since January for their five minutes of dancing fame.

Schofield said that for the newcomers, meeting their professional dancers for the first time is not unlike young children meeting their new mentor - there is a little apprehension, but excitement for the road ahead. Just like mentors, the professionals from The Dancing Feeling studio want to bring out the best in their mentees, to show them everything they are capable of with a little support.

After their performances, many of the dancers commented on how they wouldn’t be able to do it without their partner, and how much they came to learn about themselves throughout practices.

Michael Reed said the best part was when he had learned enough to realize where he was making mistakes and had enough know-how to fix them himself thanks to Capodanno’s lessons. He and his wife have even signed up to take ballroom dancing classes.

Ashley Case said her partner, Randy Deats, took her for everything she was, and that was why she “couldn’t wait” to put it all out on the dance floor.

“It’s great to have volunteers every year willing to go out of their comfort zone for us and perform in front of people even when they aren’t a dancer,” Schofield said.

As part of the 10th anniversary of the event, all of the past dancers were recognized and called to stage. Similarly, the dancers from The Dancing Feeling were honored with a disco ball trophy. It is estimated that all together the professionals have donated tens of thousands of dollars worth of their time for the annual dance competition.

The winners of the event were Reed and Capodanno, Case and Deats, Jay Heimgartner and Briana Faiola, as well as Jeanne Hoxsie and Josh Morgenstein.

Reed, Capodanno, Heimgartner and Faiola all tied for the “Most Entertaining” award. Reed and Capodonno performed to the song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story, and were even dressed as the main characters, Woody and Jesse.

Heimgartner and Faiola danced to Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance.” Heimgartner said one of the hardest parts of the night was the “20 minutes it took to get skinny jeans on” to match the band’s frontman.

The judges - Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, former performer Patricia Koch and Roxana Herzog - bestowed Case and Deats with the “Judges Choice” award.

Koch told Case, “I loved it. You were full out dancing from the moment you hit the floor. You didn’t stop even for a moment.”

Altogether, the dancing competition helped to raise $107,000 for RIMP to improve the “quality and quantity” of mentoring matches for Rhode Island’s children.

“Many kids don’t have a role model cheering in their corner, someone who accepts them for just who they are and helps them to be their best self,” Schofield said. “It’s not magic what we do. We just help build and foster positive relationships in kids lives.”

For more information or to volunteer as a mentor, visit www.mentorri.org.

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