Beginning with a community event parallel to the ABC sensation Dancing with the Stars and moving forward with another resembling the FOX hit show So You Think You Can Dance, four local ladies banded together to bring entertainment to local residents and to benefit a needy cause.
One of the founders, Robyn Wolman of Waterford, said she met the other three founders and coordinators of the event, Angie Gugliuzza of Niantic, Lori Woll of Old Saybrook, and Connie Simos of New London last year as she was putting together a community event version of Dancing with the Stars.
She developed the concept and said Gugliuzza, who previously owned Arthur Murray Dance Studio, was a huge help connecting participants with professional dancers for lessons. Along with Woll, director and caterer of the Mystic Marriott, and Simos, manager of People’s Bank in Waterford, Wolman was able to grab local community celebrities and make the event a great success.
“We had winners, and it was really fantastic,” Wolman said. “We raised $40,000 for L&M Hospital.”
Since it was such a success, they agreed to try another event for another cause and, with a knack for community event planning, Wolman was up for the challenge, and “So You Think You Can Dance…for a Cause” was born.
“When we decided to do this, the four of us got together,” Wolman said. “We try to grab at something that’s very popular at the time because we think that a lot of people would enjoy that. We also try to do things that are community events so we can get our local community involved.”
“We wanted to do something fun for the community that would involve everybody,” Gugliuzza said. “The hot show for this season that had just finished was So You Think You Can Dance. We thought it would be a great way to showcase the younger talent in the area, ages 16 to 30. We wanted to do the production just like the show…Pair them up, picking their type of dancing out of a hat, and have them work with choreographers.”
Auditions were held on Oct. 18 at the Mystic Marriott, open to dancers 16 to 30 years old, amateurs or professionals with a $10 registration fee.
Gugliuzza said the judges—professional dance choreographers—will choose 20 finalists, 10 male and 10 female, from those auditioning and they will be divided into 10 couples who will choose a dance style at random from a hat. Each couple will then have to schedule a free three-hour session with the choreographer specializing in the chosen dance style. From then on, the couples are on their own to practice up until the event.
“The night of the event is Friday, Nov. 14,” Gugliuzza said. It will be held at Port N’ Starboard in New London.
Besides watching the different paired routines the night of the event, Gugliuzza said each contestant must also perform their own 30-second solo routine. Recorded auditions and practice sessions will be played back as a “highlight reel” and prizes will be announced and awarded.
Wanting to entertain the community, the four founders also wanted the proceeds to benefit a needy cause.
“We have chosen Strays Unlimited, and what they do is they rescue sick, blind, feral cats for the most part and they give them a home,” Gugliuzza explained. “They also train the feral animals to get along with other animals…They give them a home for life,” she said, mentioning many of the animals they house, in normal circumstances, would have already been put down. “If [the animals are] blind, some people feel like that’s no form of life and they put them down.”
Gugliuzza’s parents, Vincent and Paulette, run Strays Unlimited out of their home in Uncasville.
“They’ve been doing this all of their lives and they finally became a nonprofit in 2006 and they had never received any funding of any sort,” Gugliuzza continued. “It’s just the two of them, so they don’t have time or know-how to put together fund-raisers and anything. So I thought that would be a good cause.”
“It’s a pleasure working with these girls,” Woll said, adding that she was glad to be a part of an incredible event that supports the community. “It’s something fun and something positive, especially in light of everything in the world today going on, it’s nice to have a positive thing for younger people.”
Wolman said Simos is very active in the New London community.
“She knows so many people in the area…she’s just such a great ambassador for the community,” Wolman continued. “We all have formed a sisterhood,” she said, laughing.
“It’s just a great show and the tickets are pretty inexpensive,” Gugliuzza said. “And it’s so beautiful there, being right on the beach with a great atmosphere, a nice big dance floor…I think people are going to be really impressed and say they can’t wait for the next one…You’re going to sort of get that vibe like ‘I should have done this’ or ‘I feel like dancing’ so everyone’s going to be able to dance afterward.”
So You Think You Can Dance...will be held in the Port N’ Starboard at Ocean Beach in New London on Nov. 14 from 6:30 p.m. to midnight, preceded by a silent auction from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by social dancing after the competition. Competitors are encouraged to invite friends and family to watch and cheer them on as 50 percent of competitors’ scores are based on audience reaction. Tickets are $25 and may be reserved in advance. For more information, visit www.danceforacause.org.