Everything associated with Dancing with the Dedham Stars (DWTDS) is done with great secrecy. This is done to heighten anticipation and excitement.
Mission accomplished!
After Dimitria asked me to participate, I was walking around with this big secret, unable to tell anyone…not my friends…not my co-workers…not even my WIFE! I had this really great, really exciting news and I could tell NO ONE.
Find out what's happening in Dedhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Keeping the secret was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do.
The following week, Dimitria asked all of the Stars to get together and we would all meet each other. I was excited to meet my fellow Stars, but there was a certain trepidation as well. After all, this is a competition.
We would be competing against each other both as dancers and from a fundraising standpoint. That said, it is a friendly competition, so I was eager to meet the other five people with whom I would soon share a unique bond.
When I arrived, Dimitria was there with Laura Kelleher. Laura was born and raised in Dedham and will represent Riverdale. Next to walk in the door was Korrin Slavin. I had met Korrin the week before as we both participated in the Pumpkin Bowl to benefit Dedham Girls Youth Softball.
Find out what's happening in Dedhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently, we were both sitting on big secrets. Korrin is a past Greenlodge PTO President and will get the Greenlodge vote. Next through the doors was Andrew Patterson.
Mr. Patterson is a 6th Grade teacher in Dedham Middle School who, I have since learned, is everyone’s favorite teacher.
Last to arrive was the pair of Macella Musto and Anthony Jeannetti. Marcella is a Realtor with Discover Properties and owns Vincenzo’s in Dedham Square with her husband Guiseppi.
Anthony owns Anthony Frederick Salon and Day Spa, right next door to Vincenzo’s. After everyone met, we covered the specifics, timeframe and what to expect, etc. then took some promotional pictures…and goofed around a lot.
We’re going to have some fun.
So…the Olympic Gymnastics team brought us the Fierce Five, and now DWTDS has the Sassy Six. The squad has been assembled.
Later that week on Thursday night, we all met at Fred Astaire Dance Studios at their new location in Dedham Square at 619 High St. Fred Astaire runs an Open House every Thursday night at 7:30, so we got the chance to meet the professional dancers and then went through our first class as a group.
It was a lot of fun, but for me at least, I saw how far I had to go. I’m
not much of a dancer. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have two left feet, I certainly lack rhythm.
Actually, I think it’s genetic. I blame my parents. So let the Nature vs. Nurture battle begin!
Can ten 45-minute private lessons overcome my DNA and years of doing the Running Man at weddings? We shall see.
After meeting the Dancers on Thursday night, The Announcement went public the next morning. As my wife was trying to walk out the door to work, I forced her to sit and watch the YouTube video Alex Shumway had created. I had kept my secret as long as I possibly could and I needed to let the cat out of the bag. And so the journey begins….
As always, the purpose of DWTDS is to raise money for Dedham’s schools and students. I encourage you to DONATE, hopefully to me, but please donate to one of the Sassy Six.
Feel free to go to my FaceBook page “Dan-cing for Dedham!!!” and make your pledge! You can also reach me at dmaher@ft.newyorklife.com.
This week’s Shout Out to new sponsors…..MaryKate at The Cut Stop! Sophia and Nick at American Dry Cleaning! Matt, Ernie and Anthony at Deli After Dark/Centre Deli.
