FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2006
Contact: Michael Corby
904.632.3310

Fundraiser dance concert and celebrity dance contest to benefit Florida Community College DanceWorks April 8

“Swinging with the Stars,” a special patrons’ concert and celebrity dance contest will be held April 8 at the Nathan H. Wilson Center for the Arts, Florida Community College at Jacksonville South Campus, 11901 Beach Blvd., 6:30-10:30 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the College dance troupe DanceWorks.

An abbreviated dance concert (with works and performers who graced the stage at the Annual Spring Dance Concert April 6-7) will highlight the event. It will feature Susan Dodge, a Douglas Anderson School of the Arts graduate and artistic director of the Dodge Dance Company in New York City. Following the concert, attendees will dance to music spun by DJ John Willever.

A dance competition will feature DanceWorks troupe members and local celebrities including The Honorable Elaine Brown, Jacksonville City Council (At-Large); Sandi Wagner, vice president of Watson Realty; Charlotte Mabry, principal percussionist, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra; Earl M. Johnson Jr., attorney; Carl Burak, author and businessman; and Robert Arleigh White, executive director, Jacksonville Cultural Council. Patrons will vote for the winner(s).

Catering is by Turtle Island Market. Other highlights of the evening will include a twist contest and an open wine bar.

All funds raised will benefit DanceWorks, the Florida Community College dance program that, under the direction of Dance Professor Rosemary Fletcher, strives to elevate dance in Jacksonville by exposing audiences to a high caliber of artistic excellence. The program offers more than fifteen dance and fitness classes each semester. It also brings in choreographers from all over the nation to set-pieces on its performing companies, providing students with master classes and world-class dance. Reaching out to the community, DanceWorks offers workshops and performance projects in local schools.

Admission to the fundraiser concert and dance contest is $50 per person and $75 per couple. Reservations may be made by calling 904.646.2222. For more information about the Florida Community College Dance program call 904.646.2361.