By Rodney Richey
The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. —
It was so much fun, they’re doing it again.
Several couples in the second “Dancing Like the Stars” competition at the Paramount in January gather tonight for an encore.
And each dancer has his or her own reason for stepping back on stage.
For dentist Carey McLaughlin, it was almost against his will.
“I was ready to take a vacation when they were scheduling this,” McLaughlin said Thursday.
“Then I happened to see (dance instructor Marie Roach) down in Indianapolis. And she says, ‘Hey, you want to do this again?’
“So I thought, ‘Oh, what the heck.’”
Roach, owner of Riolo Dance in Indianapolis, said that the encore “is for a good cause, and if we can help (the Paramount) by doing something as simple as dancing, then we’ll do it.”
McLaughlin and Roach will perform their same dance, an Argentine tango, to the song “Así Se Bailar de Tango.”
“Fortunately I still remember the footwork,” McLaughlin laughed.
Nancy Anderson of the United Way of Madison County will rejoin her dance instructor, Dean Oldham, for The Hustle to Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough.”
Truth be told, though, she hasn’t stopped dancing since January.
“It was a natural fit,” she said of the encore performance tonight. “Ever since the event was over in January, I continued to dance with my instructor. It’s become a hobby now.”
Oldham, who owns Dean & Co. in Indianapolis, said that Anderson was more than just a good student.
“I’m so proud of her,” he said. “She’s done such a great job. Any student who has worked that hard on something, you want to show her off.”
For Mike McKenzie, history teacher at Anderson High School, dancing is more than a hobby.
It’s therapy.
In late March, two months after he danced with Muncie instructor Melodie Carr, McKenzie was hit with a “mild-to-debilitating stroke.”
“Enough to give me a heck of a wakeup call,” he added.
Doctors headed off the stroke, though, and what limitations he still has are being dealt with through therapy, including tonight.
“Dance is part of the therapy, too,” McKenzie said. “It all works together.”
Carr, who said she came back because “dancers will dance any opportunity they get,” admitted she was relieved and impressed with McKenzie’s rehearsals.
“He was willing to give it a try,” she said, “and he’s doing a darned good job.”
Kay Anderson, organizer of the event, said that a list of 15 candidates had already been assembled for the next “Dancing” in January 2011. Those interested in participating can contact her by e-mail at kfsand43@gmail.com.
As far as the encore performance tonight, Anderson said that “we thought that the interest level was still very high and that we would be able to use it to help the Paramount.
“It was surprise that it was as popular as it’s been.”
Contact Rodney Richey, 640-4861, rodney.richey@heraldbulletin.com
