David Maschino normally lights up the sky as the prince of pyrotechnics at the annual July 4th QMIX Musical Fireworks event.
On Saturday, he lit up the dance floor with partner Julie Orben to win the 11th Annual Dancing with the Stars Columbus Style fundraiser at The Commons.
Maschino laughed when asked if these fireworks were even cooler than his rockets.
“This was pretty exciting,” he said of a routine that carried the fun and frolicking trademark of local dancer and choreographer Ronda Byers.
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Maschino and Orben were presented the event’s traditional mirrored ball trophy for being the biggest money raisers via votes by donations from the public, including a sold-out crowd of 440 people at the evening show — a nice total to go with 360 people at an afternoon matinee. Put it all together and the dynamic duo and eight other couples raised $68,622 for children-oriented nonprofit local agencies Family School Partners and Children Inc.
Sean McAuliffe and Jenny Walters’ high-energy, streetwise routine earned the People’s Choice Award for the most total votes.
Orben roused the crowd a mere minute into the event-opening performance that began with Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll,” which became the evening’s theme. Orben, seemingly clad in only a billowy dress shirt, soon turned her back to the crowd and slowly and coyly peeled off the shirt — revealing a glittery and fringed dance costume underneath while the crowd whistled and hooted.
“I am pretty conservative,” Orben said afterward. “But I guess I have a wild child within.”
This was hardly a night for those born to be mild. When the gathering’s soundtrack included funk and rap artists such ranging from Bruno Mars to Run DMC, how could people possibly keep the music from crawling up their legs and moving their hips a bit, even while seated at tables spread throughout the venue?
They couldn’t, and when the crowd eventually hit and covered the dance stage at the end of the night, their exuberance was such that more dancing broke out far away even in front of the bar for nearly 10 minutes.
Before all that, one competition couple, Wayne Britton and Tiffany Sparks, beautifully slowed things a bit with a sweeping, lyrical, ballet-and-modern uber-athletic effort set to John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
“I think the energy from the audience really helped,” said Sparks, a local gym manager who has danced professionally and currently is choreographing for Mill Race Theatre Company.
Britton acknowledged that his experience with a Hula Hoop dance troupe in Bloomington also helped.
Soon afterward, Matt Lee and Sonya Denney ushered in a country vibe with a bit of line dancing to Lee’s own tune, “The Snake,” from Lee’s Night Owl Country Band. A surprise element of sorts included his three bandmates joining the couple onstage mid-number for a few moves.
As the pair finished, Lee went to the wings and made a facetious announcement: He would quit music for dance — if only he could stop grinning and laughing.
“I’m much more comfortable onstage moving with my guitar,” he said finally.
The People’ Choice winners, McAuliffe and Walters, earned one of the loudest responses of the night with a partial standing ovation. Before the pair closed with steps to C+C Music Factory’s club anthem “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” they earned a big cheer for a sudden maneuver of tearing off their sweatpants to reveal shorts and activewear underneath.
What was their secret of connecting with the audience?
“I’ve got attitude,” Walters said with a chuckle. “Must be the red hair.”
The fiery zip of local acts included guest dance troupes to both entertain and to allow volunteers to count votes and money. Devika Pande’s Bollywood Unlimited group danced with such inexhaustible abandon that it earned several emphatic ovations. A funky, edgy piece from a youth ensemble from Sonya’s Dance Zone drew solid appreciation, and Ballet Folklorico de Columbus kicked up its heels to gleeful tunes from south of the border.
Overall, everything in The Commons seemed to be moving and grooving so well that the spirit seemingly became contagious. And, at night’s end, Mother Nature stepped in to join the fun.
Consequently, as the crowd departed into the night, streetlights along Washington Street lit the day’s closing number — snowflakes dancing in the gentle breeze.
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Most money raised
- First place: Julie Orben and David Maschino
- Second place: Ginger Lirette and Patrick Andrews
- Third place: Wendy Boulware and Donnie Ritzline
People’s Choice Award (for most votes)
- Jenny Walters and Sean McAuliffe
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