Looking back on their own lives, this year’s lineup of dancers for Dancing with the Stars of Mentoring recognize that without their own mentors they wouldn’t be who they are today.
After months of training, the eight dancing couples will be battling at the 10th annual dance competition hosted by the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership (RIMP) on May 5 at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet.
For this one-of-a-kind competition, local “stars” with little to no dancing ability are paired with professional dancers from Dancing Feeling, which has worked with RIMP since the beginning of the event 10 years ago.
The competitors met each other for the first time recently at Coastway Community Bank headquarters, but they all remained pretty tight-lipped about their performances.
Amy Pontes from Lite Rock 105 hinted her performance may be 80’s themed and to watch out for some surprise “tricky moves.”
Pontes had seen people dance before and volunteered for the challenge. She said her practices are going really well, but as the final performance nears she expects them to get more difficult, especially as her nerves start to sink in.
“I’m not nervous now, but I know I will be on the day of,” Pontes said. “A friend of mine said to just have fun and don’t fall down, and that thought had never dawned on me.”
Michael Reed from Textron joked that he didn’t volunteer as much as he was “roped in.” His co-worker, Lindy Matarese, not only performed last year but also took the People’s Choice Award.
“I had no dancing ability at all whatsoever. The first practice we literally spent the entire time working on the simple three-step,” Reed said. “I wanted to do this for the partnership, but I never thought I would be having as much fun as I am.”
Matarese offered the group some advice on fundraising but also told the new competitors to enjoy it while it lasts, because it all goes by quicker than expected.
She said, “You work so hard for months and then it’s over in two minutes. You just have to leave it all on the dance floor.”
For the 10th anniversary RIMP will be recognizing all the past dancers in the competition with a slideshow from past events.
Jo-Ann Schofield, president and CEO of RIMP, said the fundraiser has been so successful over the past 10 years because it is such an enjoyable event. A foundation of “fans” is built through each participating star’s cheering section, but having such a great time, these individuals continue coming year to year.
The increasing popularity of the event also helped the partnership find dancers sooner than ever. Where is years past it has been a struggle to find some dancers, RIMP had people volunteering left and right. Already they have a couple dancers cued up for next year.
Last year more than 550 people attended the event, but the space can fit more and for the 10th anniversary Schofield hopes to draw in a big crowd. Similarly, RIMP hopes to meet or exceed what they raised last year, $120,000.
“For us to do this we need the community to really jump in and support us,” she said. “Mentoring is the best gift we can give our young people.”
For the children without many adult role models in their lives, the mentoring partnership can help to provide youth with a support system, to help them better engage in school, to boost their self-esteem and become a more productive and successful adult.
With children of her own, Pontes said she connects with the cause. She herself grew up in a big family with a lot of aunts and uncles that acted as mentors.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without those people cheering me on my whole life. Everyone needs a mentor,” she said.
Reed grew up in a single parent home, with his dad traveling a lot. His godfather would often step in as a male role model and a “second father figure.”
Reed said, “If it wasn’t for his influence I wouldn’t be who I am today, and there are a lot of kids out there who don’t have those same role models in their lives. This organization can help them with that.”
“Parents can’t do it alone,” Schofield said. “We need other positive influences in a child’s early development. We help those kids that don’t have a natural access to that type of support system.”
This year’s competitive dancers are Ashley Case from Amgen, Sira D’Arpino from Coastway Community Bank, Jeff Daw from Northwestern Mutual, Jay Heimgartner from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Jeanne Hoxsie from Centreville Bank, Norina Laferriere from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Amy Pontes from Lite Rock 105, and Michael Reed from Textron.
Congressman James Langevin is the Honorary Event Chair while Heather Gersten, from Lite Rock 105, and Mario Hilario from NBC10 will serve as the show’s hosts. Hilario will also be a part of the Michael Jackson themed opening number along with the Total Convergence Dancers.
Judges for the competition will be Mayor Scott Avedisian, Roxana Herzog, a professional ballroom dancing judge, and Dr. Patricia Koch.
Dancing with the Stars of Mentoring will be held Thursday, May 5, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, 60 Rhodes Place, Cranston. There will be a silent auction put together by Coastway Community Bank. Tickets are $85 per person and include dinner and “unbelievable entertainment.” Tickets have to be purchased by April 27 and can be purchased on the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership’s website, www.mentorri.org.
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