Staff Writer
The stars were dancing Friday night. Maybe not outside, but onstage at the Caribou Performing Arts Center, as the CHS Class of 2010 presented “Dancing Like A Star.”
Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
Patrick Swayze eat your heart out. You’ve got nothing on the moves of Dancing Dep, as he and partner CHS Senior Victoria Wong dance their way to becoming the first ever, “Dancing Like A Star Favorite Couple.” The event was a fund-raiser for the Caribou High School Class of 2010.
Remember when as a child, if you happened to see a teacher somewhere outside of the classroom, you were totally amazed — you mean they actually don’t live in the school ? They really do go other places and do other things? Wow. Well, if there was ever any remaining doubt, Friday night would have taken care of it as six students, paired with teachers and community members, stepped forward for the cause, raising an estimated $2,000 for the Class of 2010. That’s a lot of $1 votes.
Elizabeth Barbosa and Jon Ouellette, host and hostess for the evening, kept the large audience laughing with their dry humor and regaled everyone as they read the self-scripted bios of each dancer.
Opening the show were Natasha Bishop, a freshman and certainly no stranger to the stage or dancing. Her partner, Andrew Kirby, a science teacher at CHS noted in his bio that he had, “been dancing since birth.” Well, maybe not, but to quote Elizabeth Barbosa, he could certainly, “bust a move.”
Dancing to “Rock and Roll is Here to Stay,” Bishop at first danced circles around Kirby, then the real performance began. The duo covered the stage in a whirlwind of rock’n’roll steps and twirls, causing quite a ruckus within the student-filled audience.
Next up was “Yo Mama,” Jola Hebert, a grade five teacher at the Caribou Middle School, who with freshman Erin Kinney, created quite a tough looking pair, as they danced, with attitude, to “Bout It.” Hebert, in her bio stated that she learned her impressive moves by performing with her Swiffer Sweeper and from her husband, “Snoop Dog, Gary.” Kinney, a talented and schooled dancer herself, with Hebert displayed some pretty slick moves across the stage. A rougher looking pair never danced so perfectly on the CPAC stage.
Admitting that he performed worldwide and starred in “Dance Fever,” but was really a tap-dancing country boy, Mark Shea, high school coach, who also works with the Maine Winter Sports Center looked anything but a dancing naturalist as he appeared on stage. His attire gave doubt regarding his bio, as the word, Nerd, instantly crossed the minds of most. Dressed in plaid shorts, suspenders, black glasses, topped off with short red socks, Shea instantly doused the Fred Astaire image. His partner, Abby Small, who said she had, “No danceability,” (which we all know if far from the truth), appeared giving the impression of a very shy, awkward young school girl. But, once the music started and the pair danced to “Rock With You,” everyone learned that to judge a book (or teacher) by its cover, is a very big mistake.
Shea and Small rocked on, drawing hollers and whoops from the audience. Shea also proved he wasn’t shy when, during a break in the event, he canvassed the audience for votes.
Stating that she had been dancing professionally since the age of 10, when she won her first dance contest, for being the best break-dancer, Allison Heidorn, project assistant of the Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention, noted she was probably wearing more spandex than anyone ever had, or should have worn before. Heidorn’s partner, Demarre Doody-Corriveau, a freshman at CHS, and a natural dance student showed no, “Mercy,” as they showed off their dance moves, proving once again that the generation gap isn’t as wide as most think.
Via his biography, Ryan Deprey, physical education teacher and coach, humbly admitted to being a seasoned dancer, a pro at best, someone who had taught Patrick Swayze how to move. Well, it didn’t seem to matter much to his admirers in the audience just how much of this was actually true because when “Dep” and senior Victoria Wong started their moves to the “Jump On it, Harder, Better, Faster,” mix, the crowd erupted into cheers and wild applause.
The dynamic dancing duo filled the stage with a delirium of motion ending with very impressive gymnastic moves that included a split. While Wong, who has been a dance student for a number of years, was all smiles and laughing at the end of the performance, Dancing Dep had worked up a bit of a sweat.
But the energy of the music and of course his dancing prowess highlighted by his partner’s expertise, resulted in the pair winning the coveted title of the, “Dancing Like A Star Favorite Couple.”
It may have seemed difficult to have to follow the previous five dancing couples, but when Diana Locke, PE/Health teacher and freshman Paige Small shuffled onto the stage there were few doubts as to whether or not they could keep up.
Locke confessed she had learned from her husband, “Dancing Diva David”(Wakana) and of course Small’s dancing talent is well-known, as she and her sister Abby, operate Small Steps Dance School.
The two petite dancers portrayed a perfectly synchronized soft-shoe/jazz routine to ‘Bye, Bye, Blackbird,”
Special entertainment for the evening was provided by Heaven Cantafio, who sang Nat King Cole’s “L is For the Way,” and “What’s Love Got to Do With it?” by Tina Turner.
Also on stage was the “Wayover Trio,” made up of Danielle Lane, Kellie Moody and Erin Buck. The three young vocalists re-write the music to fit their own tastes and voices, resulting in a wonderful mix of music. The trio sang, “Scarborough Fair,” Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” and “Hit the Road Jack.”
This fund-raiser sponsored by the Caribou High School Class of 2010 was certainly a success, in more than just the revenue side of things, as the performances by these students and their partners proves once again the strength of the Caribou community.
Erin Kinney, left and Jola “Yo Moma” Hebert show a little attitude as they dance to”Bout It.”
“Rock with You,” was the music that turned a shy Abby Small and fashion conscious Mark Shea, into dancing machines during the “Dancing Like a Star” fundraiser sponsored by the CHS Class of 2010.
It was all soft-shoe, jazz, some razz-ma-taz and “Bye,Bye, Birdie,” when Diana Locke, left and Paige Small took to the bright lights at the Caribou Performing Arts Center.
Allison Heidorn, left, and Demarre-Doody Corriveau had the audience rocking in their seats, as they danced to, “Mercy,” with a little bit of sass and a lot of energry.
Aroostook Republican photos/Barb Scott
“Rock ‘N Roll is Here to Stay,” there was no doubt about it when CHS science teacher Andrew Kirby and freshman Natasha Bishop tore up the floor with some good old rock and roll moves. The footloose duo were the first competitors during the “Dance Like A Star” fund-raiser held recently at the Caribou Performing Arts Center.
