QUINTIN JAMES
Assistant Sports Editor
On Nov. 12, in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room, the Student Dance Organization held their fifth annual Dancing with the Athletes event.
The event was for charity, a non-profit organization called Moving Miracles that assists individuals with special needs in dance, creative movement, music and many other things.
With the Moving Miracles team in attendance for the event, it was a chance for them to perform and watch Fredonia athletes and dancers team up to perform a dance routine for the two judges.
To begin the event, the Moving Miracles dancers performed their dance routine for the audience. With their parents, students and judges looking on, the Moving Miracles dancers wowed the crowd and exited to a loud round of applause.
The judges for the event were associate dance professor Phil Wackerfuss and Fredonia dance team advisor Diane Everett.
For Everett, it was her first time judging in the event.
“I was honored that they asked me to co-judge this fundraiser, especially since Moving Miracles is such a wonderful organization. It was my first time participating and I absolutely loved it. Nothing makes me happier than watching other people enjoy dance as much as I do, and the dancers tonight were having a lot of fun.”
There were nine couples performing Sunday. They were judged on originality, partnership relationship and execution.
The audience also got the chance to vote for their favorite couple with the fan vote that was presented to each person in attendance.
Each group had a theme to their routine and a certain genre of music. While some contestants had previous experience in dance, others did not, but all managed to perform well. Some couples chose to enchance the crowd during their performance which paid major dividends with the judges and audience.
After the first four couples performed, the Fredonia Dance Team came on and performed their own dance routines before the second half of couples had their shot at dancing.
The first half of couples included two performances from the teams of Eva Mancerella and Nick Liberatore and Timothy Kempton Blair and Hannah Kurbs. The couple of Tommy John and Sarah Kurbs, from the women’s cross country team, stood out during the second half of performances because they executed a contemporary dance routine.
After all the couples performed, Fredonia’s Envied Expression team ended the event while the judges
decided on the top three couples and the fans voted on the “People’s Choice.”
The top three couples were Timothy Kempton Blair and Hannah Kurbs, Eva Mancerella and Nick Liberatore, and Tommy John and Sarah Kurbs. The winners of the event were John and Kurbs with Mancerella and Liberatore coming in second and Blair and Kurbs coming in third.
Even though they came in second place, Mancerella and Liberatore were voted by the fans as the “People’s Choice” meaning that both of them were fan favorites.
The key to their success was their great chemistry and their ability to master the moves and get everything down pat.
“Nick was super dedicated and hardworking which made it fun and easy to teach him the dance. He caught on fast,” said Mancerella.
“The moves weren’t that difficult but it took me a while to remember which dance moves came after each other,” said Liberatore.
Their routine was a dance battle and when asked why they chose to perform this way, Mancerella explained that goofing off during rehearsals led to them figuring out their routine.
“We decided to make it a dance battle because throughout the rehearsal process we would goof off a lot and realized that it was actually entertaining and would make a good theme for our routine.”
Liberatore was convinced by fellow contestant and track team teammate Nick Gamble to participate in the event and says he had a great time and looks forward to doing it next year.
Mancerella is in her second year participating and she says she does it to see the smiles on the faces of the Moving Miracles dancers.
“I loved it. This was my second year doing Dancing with the Athletes and I decided to do it again because of how much fun I had last year and after seeing how much the Moving Miracles dancers enjoyed it.”
The event was another success and meant a lot to the Moving Miracles dancers and their families. While the past experience of the performers varied, the difficulties learning the moves and dancing in front of people were made worth it by the good cause they were dancing for.
Everett explained,“I loved watching the dancers from Moving Miracles perform. You could just see how proud they were to be there. But our Fredonia dancers and athletes were terrific. People don’t realize how much work goes into the choreography and practice before a performance, not to mention how much courage it takes for a non-dancer to get up and perform with trained dancers in front of an audience.”