Arts & Entertainment
Fundraiser Attracts Area's Best Dancers
A fundraiser at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet attracted 27 of the area's best dancers and dance teams in a "So You Think You Can Dance"-style of competition, which raised money for the RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
About 500 people filled the airy ballroom at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet on Thursday night to watch dancers selected from all around New England show their best stuff for a great cause.
There were Broadway-style production dance teams, hip-hop dancers, ballroom dancers, interpretative dancers and teeny-boppers, as well as soloists who even the most novice of dance critics could tell had spent years honing their craft. The Rhodes Ballroom, with its sepia lighting, high ceilings and vaulted supports provided a beautiful backdrop for the dancers to showcase their talent.
The event was a fundraiser for the Women's Center of Rhode Island. Kris Lyons, the executive director of the women's center, estimated they raised $15,000 Thursday night.
Find out what's happening in Cranstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The 27 finalists were selected out of over 70 competitors during a preliminary competition at Studio One in Lincoln.
Celebrity judge Mary Murphy, an accomplished ballroom dancer and a judge on Fox's television show "So You Think You Can Dance," said after about an hour and a half into the event, "The talent tonight has just been crazy awesome here."
Find out what's happening in Cranstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Lyons said she and her staff, led by development director Sandra Brunelle and associate development director Barbara Lee, had worked on the event for almost six months. She noted the event was an extra bonus before the women of excellence awards luncheon, which will take place Friday.
"This is a fun event that will raise needed funs for the women's center and its work," said Lyons. All funds will go to the women's center of RI, court advocacy and community activism.
The winners were:
Solo - Alexandra Jenkins (Irish Stepdancing) - $700 prize
Couples - Kim Harris and Tomas Vasicek (Ballroom) - $700 prize
Team - Beautiful Nightmare (Broadway-style production) - $700 prize
The Grand Prize winners were Kim Harris and Tomas Vasicek - $1,000 prize
Editor's Note: An original version of this story stated the money was raised for the RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In fact the money was for the Women's Center of Rhode Island, a subsidiary of the RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
