Katie O’Reilly is my dance partner for the Dancing With the La Crosse Stars competition on November 28th. This entire competition revolves around raising money for our local chapter of the American Red Cross. If there is anyone out there who would like to sponsor Katie and I, just download the sponsor form, fill it out, and mail it to the American Red Cross. Katie and I would greatly appreciate your support and your donation goes to an amazing organization.
Katie and I were paired up because I wanted to do some form of Latin-romantic dance because I thought it would be unlikely that any of my fellow Stars would attempt something this challenging. And Katie really enjoys Latin dancing and is great at it. But I suspect she wasn’t too excited when I confessed that I have zero dance background! Katie definitely has her work cut out for her but she has a real eye for choreography and is so darn organized. Her sense of humor is terrific and we laughed a ton during our first practice session. I think we will make a great team and take a real run at the title!
Katie and I have decided to do a combination of two dances for our two minute routine: the Paso Doble and the Samba. Unreal! Last Sunday was our first practice session and Katie taught me four Samba steps that we affectionately nicknamed Tiger, Mantis, Monkey, and Snake. The nicknames make the dance steps easier for me to remember…and yep…I stole the names from Kung Fu Panda. Such an awesome movie!
One of the downsides to our training schedule is that I had to leave on October 12th for my book tour work in Ohio and will be gone until the 24th. While I am out of town, my fellow Stars are able to get in more training sessions, so I am sort of behind, and the training just started. But, I promised Katie that I would practice Tiger, Mantis, Monkey, and Snake while in Ohio and we would hit the ground running again on the 25th. Super awesome!
And while I am gone, our music is being professional cut together and more costume ideas are being developed. Katie and I are going to bring the house down on November 28th. “Dancing With the La Crosse Stars” is performed in front of a live audience of about 800 people. Insane! Get your tickets early because the event always sells out fast!!!
