For the last eight years, different members of the community have taken part in a chance to show off their dance moves and skills, all for a good cause.
This year, it returns for its ninth edition as Dancing with the West Texas Stars will take place this month.
Based on the famous competition television series show from ABC, Dancing with the West Texas Stars is an annual fundraiser that benefits the Crisis Center of West Texas and its mission to end domestic and sexual violence in West Texas.
This year’s event will take place at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Ector Theatre with an after-party taking place at the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, right after the competition.
Dancing with the West Texas Stars features performances by 11 local stars partnered with talented professional dancers from around the community.
Tickets can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/ee3dt2cn.
“I’m really excited for this year,” Crisis Center of West Texas Director of Education and Partnerships Hannah Horick said. “Being our ninth year, we’ve really got it figured out. We have a solid idea of how to have a great night while supporting survivors and the 11 stars that we’ve brought on this year and their professional partners are going to put on a phenomenal show and be the same, wonderful, critical part of fundraising and raising awareness like they always are.”
Last year, the dance competition part of the fundraiser was moved from the Ballroom at the Odessa Marriott to the Ector Theatre, a decision that ended up being popular with everyone involved.
“The Ector Theatre was such a cool transition for us,” Horick said. “The space is really beautiful and was a neat opportunity for people who hadn’t been in the theater before. Now, we’re excited because we know the theater better. We’ve learned from hiccups that we’ve experienced along the way from last year and the year before to make this a better experience for our guests. We can tell people are excited for this because tickets are selling faster this year than I’ve seen in my six years of doing this, so I’m really excited to pack this house full of people who are ready to support the Crisis Center and cheer on these dancers.”
This year’s fundraiser will be similar to last year’s show with only a few minor differences.
“The biggest difference for us this year is that we’ve moved the after-party upstairs (at the Marriott) and moved our exclusive cocktail hour into the theater,” Horick said. “When people come to the event this year, if they are ticket holders, they get into our exclusive cocktail hour. It’ll start in the theater … The rest of the show will run similar to what folks are used to, especially if they came last year. Even if this is their first time coming here to this event at the theater, it’s similar to what we’ve done in the past.”
All 11 contestants will be competing for prizes including the Mirror Ball Trophy for the most funds raised to support survivors.
Audience members will vote for the four other prizes including the Best Male Dancer, Best Female Dancer, Most Entertaining and the Best Costume.
This year’s stars and professionals are Donatella Blackwell and Diego Mata, Jessica Bolton and Kara Williams, Chandler Foreman and Haley Trevino, Chris Garrett and Ryanne Lewis, Michael Hamilton and Gabriela Carrasco, Michael Iaquaniello and Brooklyn Anderson, Trace Notley and Emily Hamer, Joshua Reyes and Beatriz Gonzales, Russell Tippin and Helen Pasternak, Lauren Wall and Joey Hahn as well as Scott Windham and Kelsey Tanner.
“It’s an exciting group of people,” Horick said. “One of the things I’ve been excited to see is the group of dancers looks more and more like Odessa. We have people from different careers, different demographics and we really want to make sure that we’re representing a huge swath of people. Not just a small group of people that know each other and are in the same social circle because we want this to be representative of the community that supports the Crisis Center.”
A couple of the dance professionals will come back each year to take part in the competition.
“As far as partners, we have a lot of people who come back like Kelsey Tanner and Beatriz Gonzales,” Horick said. “They’ve been with us for a long time. I can’t begin to tell you how many years Beatriz has danced with us because she has been a partner and a professional since before I came on at Crisis Center so she’s been with us since the early years. Kelsey Tanner from JK Studios is the same way. They’ve been with us for so long and they’ve bought in to this mission and we’re grateful for them.”
Last year, the Crisis Center of West Texas raised close to $304,000 from the fundraiser, which Horick said was the most they’ve raised since doing Dancing with the West Texas Stars.
The organization aims to raise more money from this year’s event.
“I’m always on a mission to beat the previous year,” Horick said.
For more information on Dancing with the West Texas Stars or the Crisis Center of West Texas, go to tinyurl.com/t6pxnus2.
If you go
- What: Dancing with the West Texas Stars.
- When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27.
- Where: Ector Theatre (after party will be at the Odessa Marriott, following the competition).
- Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/ee3dt2cn
