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Scenes from Young Audiences New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania’s Gala, DAZZLE: MAD HOT BALLROOM

May 03, 2017 By Hilary Morris

Princeton Online was pleased to be an event sponsor for the Young Audiences of NJ and Eastern PA's Gala DAZZLE: MAD HOT BALLROOM, on Saturday, April 22, 2017. The event took place at The Hyatt Princeton, and raised over $200,000, including $52,000 that was raised in a Fund-A- Need Auction for Young Audiences’ Early Childhood Initiative to bring arts programs to our youngest learners. All donations will support Young Audiences in its mission to inspire young people and expand their learning through the arts.

The gala included two performanes that had audeinces on their feet cheering for both the performers and what YA does to introduce the arts (and keep art) in the community. The main attraction of the night, the MAD HOT BALLROOM Dance Competition, had a "Dancing with the Stars"- inspired format, with 5 local VIP dancers competing for the coveted disco ball. The dancers were paired with partners from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Princeton and trained for 3 months ahead of the big event.

The dancers were: Joanne Canady-Brown (Owner and Head Baker, The Gingered Peach in Lawrenceville), Lew Gantwerk (Former Executive Director, Center for Applied Psychology at Rutgers), D.A. Graham (Vice President, Global Integrity Leader at Nielsen Company), Mark Murphy (President, Lead New Jersey), and Michele Siekerka (President, New Jersey Business and Industry Association). They all gave stellar dance performances and, after a very close race, Michele Siekerka and professional dance partner from Fred Astaire Dance Studio, Ilya Abdullin, were crowned champions for their performance “American Woman”.

Another exciting and inspiring part of the evening was a powerful dance performance by U.S. Wiggins College Preparatory Lab Family School students from Young Audiences' Adopt-a- School Initiative. The program is an innovative partnership between school districts, funders and Young Audiences that brings arts education back to underserved school children. Wiggins Elementary School brought the room to their feet with applause when they shared what they learned in a hip hop dance residency taught by YA teaching artist group Hip Hop Fundamentals.

Below are just a few highlights from the gala from photography sponsor Frank Veronsky. You can view the entire dance competition on YA's Facebook page and check out even more photos from the evening's photo booth fun.

Young Audiences NJ PA Gala Dazzle Mad Hot Ballroom

Young Audiences NJ PA Dazzle Mad Hot Ballroom

Young Audiences Trustees and Gala Co-Chairs Liz Fillo and Barbara Coe

Young Audiences President & CEO Michele Russo and Young Audiences Board Chair Belinda Roll

Young Audiences NJ PA Gala Dazzle Mad Hot Ballroom

For information about Dazzle: Mad Hot Ballroom 2018, go to www.DazzleYA.org. Dazzle: Mad Hot Ballroom received additional support from generous corporate sponsors, including Investors Bank, M&T Bank, NJBIA, Bliss Travels, Borden Perlman Salisbury & Kelly Insurance, Drinker Biddle, Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Princeton, Mathematica Policy Research, Merrill Lynch, NJM Insurance Group, NRG Energy, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and UBS Financial Services.

For partnership, corporate sponsorship opportunities, or to be considered as a VIP dancer for Young Audiences’ 45th Anniversary Mad Hot Ballroom Gala on April 21, 2018, please contact Denyce Mylson at dmylson@yanjep.org or 609-243- 9000 x202.