A tall, thin woman kicks her long leg up in the air, then leans into her partner. They move in unison on the dance floor, a river of dance flowing and bending to the rhythm of the music.
Professional dancers?
You’d think.
No, this is a mother of young children who is dancing to raise money for their school.
Dance Supporting Education
The parents and teachers of St. Regis Catholic School in Bloomfield Township, Michigan are strapping on their dance shoes and kicking up their heels to ignite enthusiasm for an upcoming fundraiser to support their children’s educational institution.
It’s the second year the private school has hosted a fundraising event which features as its focal point the daring talents of a handful of volunteering adults, to dance-off in an effort to inspire more donations. In fact, the February 2, 2019 event, taking place at Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield, follows the overwhelming success of the first such event last year, where the dancing alone generated $80,000, and the event netted a total of $170,000 for the school. (Read our latest article in The Oakland Press.)
Dancing Fundraisers
“We need something that reminds us that life is good, fun and meant to be enjoyed,” says Patti Brozek, a long-time Fred Astaire Dance Studio (FADS) dance student, Bloomfield Hills resident, St. Regis parent and co-chair of the event with Bridget Sagmani (a West Bloomfield resident). “We have seven parent dance stars paired up with professional dancers from FADS, each performing to raise money. People can vote for them, and whoever has the most votes, wins our mirrored ball.”
Due to the nature of the event, last year’s effort raised a lot of money before the actual event, plus much more on the night-of. As a result, the school was able to complete some infrastructure work, make additions to technology and air condition the gym. (Read more about last year’s efforts here.)
The event drew 350 attendees. While St. Regis has hosted auctions as fundraisers in the past, “the dancing has generated a level of excitement we’ve never had before,” Patti notes. “People are looking forward to it unlike any past event!”
St. Regis Parents
A devoted dance student here at our studio, Patti connected with us to make the event happen. Dance training takes three to four months of preparation, and dancer selection and event planning starts more than six months ahead of the event date. This is the kind of event we love to do with schools. Parents find it sparks their passion for dance, giving them a creative, fitness outlet for themselves. And, it makes for a great show for friends and family who attend.
We know well that many parents don’t make time for themselves. The St. Regis parents who dance with us love carving out this special time to develop a new passion.
For schools, it’s a great way to cultivate more interest and personal connection from the parent population. Plus, it raises a lot of money – moreso than a typical auction fundraiser.
Plus, Patti says the competitive element spurs on some parents. This year, four women and three men are performing, representing a variety of grades.
This year’s St. Regis dance competitors include:
Brooke Murphey of Franklin, dancing with Mykhailo Annienkov
Audrey Faust of Bloomfield Hills, dancing with Donald Westphal
Tommy Lee of Beverly Hills, dancing with Yuliya Lukina
Alessandra Ercolani of Bloomfield Hills, dancing with Viktor Tkachenko
Renee Morency of Clarkston (a St. Regis preschool teacher), dancing with Tamerlan Gadirov
Chris Bouschet of Bloomfield Hills, dancing with Yuliya Sinevych
Matt Stenger of Beverly Hills, dancing with Aubrey Meade
We are so grateful they’ve spent the last several months preparing with our dance instructors at our Bloomfield Hills studio!
We are dedicated to providing our business as a platform for philanthropic and meaningful causes. We regularly partner with worthy organizations and schools, using dance as a way to build awareness for important causes.
We love working with different charities and building awareness for their causes through dance performances. It is our honor to work with St. Regis on behalf of their school community, and it’s fun to work with parents, picking out their songs and working with our instructors to learn dance moves.
Let us know how we can help plan a special dance fundraiser for your group!!
Event Details
St. Regis Dancing With Our Stars
Saturday, February 2, 2019
At Shenandoah Country Club
Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.
For information and tickets: https://one.bidpal.net/regisgala2019/welcome