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Photography courtesy of Dancing With the St. Louis Stars
Past participants Kristin Johnson and Antonio Douthit-Boyd
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Photography courtesy of Dancing With the St. Louis Stars
Past participants Ally Nichols and Mike McAllister
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Photography courtesy of Dancing With the St. Louis Stars
Past participants Lisa Rodgers and Michael Fitzgerald
Glitz and glamour take the stage this Saturday at 8 p.m. as the St. Louis business community partners with professional dancers to cut a rug for glory and to raise funds for a worthy city nonprofit.
It’s the 13th annual Dancing With the St. Louis Stars, a fundraiser for Independence Center—virtual again this year, so join from the couch.
“We choose community leaders, CEOs, and executives from St. Louis and partner them with professional dancers,” says Abby Berger, business development manager for Independence Center. “We have them compete to raise funds for Independence Center.”
Dancing with the St. Louis Stars is the center’s signature fundraising event. Independence Center serves adults with severe and persistent mental health issues. It offers clinical support, individual community support, residential programming, and its flagship Clubhouse program, which serves a therapeutic purpose.
Winners are chosen by votes—though the audience votes with their dollars, literally. So a team with fundraising chops can win, even without a masterful cha-cha. With such a long history, Berger says, many of the competitors are recruited by alumni dancers.
It’s fun, but it’s also a lot of work. “Most of the people we have dancing don’t come in with a dance background,” she says. “As a participant of Dancing With the St. Louis Stars, you really have to be all in. It’s a big commitment both in the fundraising and the dancing.”
This year’s competitors include Daily Disco owner and founder Abbey Eilermann, retired chair and CEO of Ernst & Young Jim Turley, Premium Retail Services CEO Kevin Travers, media personality Gilberto Pinela, and Independence Center client George Brooks.
“Our biggest goal is getting people to live independently in our community with dignity,” says Berger. “Dancing With the St. Louis Stars fundraising makes that possible.”
