By Brianna Silva
Suffolk student leaders and staff took the stage on Thursday to compete at Suffolk’s first annual “Dancing with the Stahs.”
The event was held in the C. Walsh Theater and hosted by recent graduate, Erica LeBlanc, and Assistant Dean of Students, John Silveria. The purpose of this event was to raise money for the Journey Leadership Program as well as for a charity of the performers’ choice.
Throughout the night, eight couples had the opportunity to perform their selected song choreographed by various dancers on campus. The choices ranged from a Waltz from the “Harry Potter” score, to a hip-hop routine to Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.”
Prior to the competition starting, many performers had butterflies in their stomach, but it was a bit different for Joseph Petrone, a Suffolk Journey alumni. He says he had no issue performing in front of a huge audience.
“I have spoken in front of large audiences so it had no effect on me,” he said.
Greek Council President, Christina Frosinos, however, had a different experience.
“I had a lot of fun, but it reminded me why I never get on stage. It was stressful to go last and have everyone looking at you,” she said.
The winners of the competition were Assistant Dean of Students, Elizabeth Ching-Bush, and Residence Assistant, Jared Gaudet. Although they were named the winners, every dance couple reaped success from their performances as Student Leadership and Involvement made sure to donate some money to all charities.
There to help facilitate the competition were four judges, Dean Ann Coyne, April Duquette, choreographer for PAO productions, Kristin Baker, director of PAO and even Rammy himself. All judges gave insightful comments following the performances about the execution of the contestants’ pieces.
Jonathan McTague, a freshman and Academics chair of SGA says the whole experience was absolutely amazing. “I felt like a stah” he said with a laugh. “It felt great to be on stage, I always did like being in the spotlight. Getting to show everyone my moves was a first though definitely worth it.”
All performers had different emotions about how they felt performing in front of a live audience. One performer, Roxanne Wilkins, said dancing in front of a big crowd was exhilarating.
“I’ve never done something like it before, so it was very cool for me to participate in. As a student leader I was very proud to be asked to participate in this competition,” said Wilkins.
While the judges deliberated, the dance team W!cked came on stage and performed to a compilation of uplifting songs. Suffolk’s Step Team also performed and started off the night doing a thrilling performance that definitely got the crowd on their feet.
A special thanks was given to SLI intern and Program Council President and performer, Kelsey Johansen for putting on a phenomenal event, and she was awarded a plaque with personalized signatures of all of those who danced in the competition.
