A great pairing: Lynchburg’s own ‘Dancing with the Stars’

Virginia School of the Arts’ latest fundraiser is taking a page from the world of reality TV.

“Dancing With the Lynchburg Stars,” set for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at the James River Conference Center, will find local celebrities like Mayor Joan Foster, Lynchburg City Schools Superintendent Paul McKendrick and WSET anchor Noreen Turyn performing routines with VSA faculty members and other well-known local performers.

“It’s the perfect (event) for our school,” says Dawn Blankenship, VSA’s director of development. “We will take our nationally renowned instructors and pair them with local celebrities. It’s wonderful for us all the way around.”

Foster is teaming up with VSA Executive Director Tyrone Brooks to perform a swing dance number, McKendrick with faculty member Dominique Angel for a tango and Turyn with Brian Jones, a VSA postgraduate student.

Other dancers include Ted “Teddy Spaghetti” Kraje and VSA graduate Blair Sydnor; Randolph College composer-in-residence Hiawatha Johnson and Tiffany Tatom, the sister-in-law of VSA board member Andy Tatom; George Dawson, president and CEO of Centra Health, and his wife, Rosemary; Dr. Dickie Sowers and his wife, Judy; and local business owner Wayne Booth and Donna Barringer Neighbors, a local dance studio owner.

The pairs will perform that night, and a winner will be crowned based on crowd voting, as well as on online votes. To cast a vote without attending, visit http://www.vsaart.com. Each vote costs $10 and is a tax-deductible contribution to VSA.

Tickets to the event are $75 per person and can be purchased by calling the school at (434) 847-8688.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer and martinis will be served. The night will also feature a performance by VSA students.

Says Blankenship: “It’s just going to be an awful lot of fun.”