13th Annual Dancing With The Giordano Stars Benefit Oct. 4

Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) hosts its wildly popular “Dancing With The Giordano Stars” ballroom dance competition to benefit GDC and its educational outreach programs at Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., Thursday, Oct. 4, 7-11 p.m. This annual event, patterned after the hit ABC series "Dancing With The Stars,” teams GDC professional dancers with partners from the who’s who of Chicago’s civic, social and business communities to vie for “Best Male Dancer” and “Best Female Dancer” honors before a panel of celebrity judges including Chicago Sun-Times’ Ji Suk Yi and Jim Karas, founder of Intelligent Fitness and Wellness.

“The fun, excitement and heart of GDC’s annual ‘Dancing With The Giordano Stars’ benefit competition has made this one of the most popular fundraisers of Chicago’s fall season.” says GDC Artistic Director Nan Giordano. The evening will begin at 7 p.m. with spirits and light fare, followed by the competition. As part of the competition, each couple will perform a compulsory Foxtrot and a dance of their choice such as Cha Cha, Swing, Rumba, Salsa or Tango. Open dancing for all guests completes the evening emceed by Candace Jordan.

The male contestants (and their GDC dance partners) are Dr. Otto Aldana (with Katie Rafferty), Matt Brown (with Ari Israel), Thomas Buckley (with Maeghan McHale), Ben Hess (with Ashley Downs) and Ryan Jacobson (with Mariterese Altonsino). The female contestants (and their GDC dance partners) are Whitney Bischoff Angel (with Joshua Blake Carter), Jenny Ames (with Zachary Heller), Pam Cullerton (with Devin Buchanan), Leslie Glazier (with Jacob Frazier), Tina Monaghan (with Cesar G. Salinas), Aida Johnson-Rapp (with Adam Houston) and Dr. Joanna Slusky (with Ryan Galloway).

Event co-chairs are past contestants Susan Carlins (GDC Board member) and Christine D’hondt. Event committee members are GDC Artistic Director Nan Giordano, Hope Alexander, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke, Sandy Golub (GDC Board member), Pat Manus, Dr. Stacie McClane, Molly Newell (GDC Board member) and Sheri Passalino. Media sponsor is Michigan Avenue Magazine.

Tickets are $150 (Upper Level)-$10,000 (VIP-Gold). Corporate sponsorships are available. For tickets or more information visit giordanodance.org or call 312.922.1332.