Bullhook set for Dancing with Havre Stars

Local Havre celebrities will dazzle the community this Saturday as they put their dancing shoes on for the third annual Dancing with the Havre Stars.

Bullhook Community Health Center is sponsoring the event, a fundraiser to help with their mobile dental unit. The show will be from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Havre Central Gym.

The celebrities will be paired with a member of the Utah Ballroom Dance Company, which has partnered with Bullhook to help with the event.

The celebrities are chosen by Bullhook representatives, and Seth Ward, first-year manager for the Utah Ballroom Dance Company, said each celebrity will be paired up with a member of Utah dance.

"They spend five hours throughout the course of the week rehearsing with the dancers," Ward said.

The types of dances they perform vary every year, Ward said. This year's styles include polka, salsa, cha-cha, a waltz and others.

Ward added the dance company has the types of dance already picked out when they come to town.

"It's out of everyone's comfort zone, even the people with dance experience," Ward said. "It's a different experience for everyone. It is up to us to make sure that we're doing our best to adjust our teaching style to make them successful. We will always do what we have to choreographically and rehearsal-wise to make sure that they are successful and looking good on stage."

Audience members will vote for the winner once all the pairs have performed their routine. Attendees will be given a ballot upon entry to cast their votes and the winner will take home the coveted Mirror Ball.

Each year, the dance competition has a theme as well. Ward said this year's theme is TV shows.

"All the stars will be dancing as characters to music from famous TV shows throughout history," he added. "So most of them will be dressed as a character that they're representing."

The Utah Ballroom Dance Company travels to other small towns and puts on similar events, Ward said.

"I think what we as a company and the dancers on the company really like most about what we do is we get to travel to tons of communities like Havre and we get to meet all kinds of different people and see the country," he said.

"It's just a really great travel experience on top of getting to pursue our passion for dance, he added."

Sneak-peaks of the performances have been available at various locations in Havre. Ward said they did a preview at the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line and did a flash-mob at the Holiday Village Mall with a few routines. They also post videos to the Dancing with the Havre Stars Facebook page.

The next sneak-peek will be today at Sunnyside Intermediate School and Lincoln-McKinley Primary School. The performers will be at Sunnyside at 12:45 p.m. and Lincoln-McKinley at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available at Bullhook or can be purchased from any board member for $20. There is also space for people who are interested in dance floor seating. Tickets for those are $500 and each table seats six. Included in the ticket price are two bottles of wine, two bottles of sparkling water and a snack plate.