newsminer.com

Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

FAIRBANKS — Fairbanks fancy-pants teamed up with Fairbanks’ finest dancers at the Tanana Valley State Fair on Thursday afternoon to show off their moves at the Dancing With the Fairbanks Stars contest.

The contest began with a preliminary round on Thursday afternoon as eight couples performed and received votes and judges’ evaluations.

Starting off the round was KTVF sports reporter Megan Lewis and her partner, David Leslie, a former Lathrop ballroom dance team captain — now a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The duo kicked off by jumping and jiving to a swing song and received high scores from the three judges.

Megan Allen, a ballroom dance instructor at UAF, along with Christy Matthews, a veteran ballroom dancer from Brigham Young University ballroom, and Rob Brown, brother to LHS ballroom team coach Stefani Brown, judged the event. Missey Kohler, co-host of the Workday Wake Up show on Magic 101.1 FM, was the emcee.

Perhaps the most comical swing performance of the afternoon came from Rocky Barnette of Magic 101.1 and his expert partner, Melanie Johnson, an alumna of the LHS Ballroom Dance Team and a national competitor. Barnette, who admitted he was mortified about his dancing ability, credited all the talent to Johnson.

“She’s a great example to this community, and I’m going to remember this for my entire life. She was an incredible and patient instructor,” Barnette said.

Barnette began the performance in a costume resembling “Garth” from the movie Wayne’s World and quickly progressed to other personalities.

“I’ve never seen a performance with so many costume changes,” one of the judges said.

A very out-of-breath Barnette told the audience he lost 12 pounds while learning how to dance. The many costume changes and trying to keep up with his talented partner were quite a workout.

Dr. Charles Steiner of the Tanana Valley Clinic and Robin Johnson changed the tone to a very formal and elegant waltz that left audience members swooning.

Fairbanks theater philanthropist and longtime local actor and director Thomas Van Dorp was partnered with LHS Ballroom Dance Team alumna Mandi Wammack. The two kept the crowd clapping with a swing dance loaded with tossing, twirling and flipping.

After a few mishaps that were quickly overcome with more acrobatic stunts and bright smiles, Van Dorp explained that his feet seemed to be getting the best of him.

“I just washed my feet, and now I can’t do anything,” he said.

KTVF Channel 11 reporter, director and accomplished roller-skater Darryl Lewis Sr. brought back some of his moves from the 1970s club scene to create a improvised Latin dance routine.

His partner, Erin McKinney, a longtime expert in a variety of dance styles and a former LHS ballroom dancer, added the perfect flare to Lewis’ performance.

Between brief bouts of nervousness and excitement, the couple charmed audience members with freestyle moves and deceived judges about the improvisation of the routine.

“Darryl was an awesome partner,” McKinney said, explaining that she worked with Lewis for months to prepare. After catching his breath, Lewis told audience members and his family that he is considering taking up dancing as a hobby.

“I’m going to be a pro at this thing,” he said.

Bianca Zuckerman, a decorated figure skater and ballroom dancer, accompanied former News-Miner reporter Robinson Duffy in a Viennese waltz that was almost textbook.

Both Duffy and his partner were dressed to the nines, which was reflected in the judges’ remarks.

Duffy, whose only dancing experience came from brief theater performances in high school, relied on the expertise of his partner and the many nights he spent practicing the steps late at night while trying to soothe his 3-month-old son, Arthur.

The final two performances of the preliminary rounds included Chris Edsell, a Lathrop ballroom dancer and Boys and Girls Club manager in North Pole, coupled with Heather Blanchard. The two performed a theatrical dance posing as a youthful awkward teenage romance and were followed by Chuck Lemke, culinary arts instructor and president of the Fairbanks Symphony and Northstar Educational Foundation, and partner Carley Klein, a senior on the LHS Ballroom Dance Team. That final couple finished the afternoon with a sweet and spunky salsa routine.

The contestants returned for the final round of dancing at 8 p.m. Thursday. Awards were given based on a fifty-fifty combination of scores given by the judges and the audience. Full results will be revealed in Saturday’s News-Miner.

Audience members who voted on the winners had to pay $1 apiece. The funds raised went to the Lathrop High School Ballroom Dance Team.