The 2016 Dancing with the PebbleCreek Stars competitors, from left: Ane Aune, Julie Walmsley, Champion Donna Gray, Rich Elliott, Brian Cate and Chuck Freeman.
Pat Ingalls
Donna Gray was named champion of the 2016 Dancing with the PebbleCreek Stars competition at the fifth annual event held Friday, January 29 in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom. Runner-up was Julie Walmsley.
“I’d like to display the mirror-ball trophy in my front yard,” Gray quipped to the audience about her coveted award, but added that would probably break PebbleCreek’s covenants.
Six costumed competitors performed one dance apiece with their professional coaches in front of a sell-out crowd of about 260. Guests began the evening with a cash bar and hearty appetizers, then took their seats at reserved tables arranged around the dance floor to cheer for their favorite entrants. A brief video introduced each dancing pair who then performed an assigned dance, followed by comical critiques by a panel of judges.
The costumed judges entertained as well. Cathy Lindstrom (aka “Lady Lila from Louisiana”), Jim Bundschuh (aka Orville “Fast-Feet” Johnson) and Jeff Harrison (aka Jeff Harrison) each created and scripted their own fun characterizations.
Then it was each audience member’s turn to submit a ballot for one chosen dancer. As votes were being tallied, the sponsoring Utah Ballroom Dance Company’s professionals performed eight costumed dances, ranging from salsa to Viennese waltz to the hustle. Each pro had worked for several days with one competitor to teach an assigned, choreographed, ballroom dance routine.
Here’s a rundown of the performances:
Champion Donna Gray, wearing a lilac, form-fitting sheath dress, performed a nightclub two-step involving smooth ballroom twirls and a whirling lift.
Runner-up Julie Walmsley, clothed neck-to-toe in psychedelic bling bell-bottoms, pointed her way through an energetic disco including several lifts.
Chuck Freeman, decked out in a purple velvet jacket and piano-keys tie, performed a swing, effortlessly twirling his poodle skirt clad partner.
Ane Aune, who shed her trench coat to reveal a black fringe dress, smiled her way through a Charleston, complete with aerobic high kicks.
Brian Cate’s tango, while wearing a burgundy shirt and black arm garters, used strong, deliberate poses and lifted his partner in a spin.
Rich Elliott changed from white lab coat to red silk headband and sash to perform a cha-cha, pulsating to Latin rhythms.
A footnote: Rumor has it that neighbors have reported to the ALC a shiny object sparkling in Donna Gray’s front yard.