Six Charlotte “movers and shakers,” including banking and healthcare executives and civic leaders performed at the Knight Theater on March 4 at Charlotte Ballet’s Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte Gala fundraiser.
A record-setting $875,000 was raised to benefit Charlotte Ballet and local charities. The event, in its fifth year, pairs local stars from some of Charlotte’s most esteemed corporations with the professional dancers of Charlotte Ballet, to raise funds for the ballet company and each star’s chosen charity.
This year’s gala was presented by PNC Bank. Hosts Hardin Minor and Michelle Boudin kicked-off the evening by honoring former Dancing with the Stars dancers and Charlotte Ballet’s President and Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, who retires in June 2017. After a performance by Charlotte Ballet, the dancing competition began! The star pairs competed for two awards – People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice.
Liz & Juwan
LIZ SIMMONS | Civic Leader
Dancing with Charlotte Ballet’s Juwan Alston to benefit Levine Museum of the New South History Matters program
**People’s Choice Award Winners**
Liz & Juwan raised the most funds and received the most votes for her charity – the Levine Museum of the New South History Matters program.
Ed & Sarah
DR. EDWARD KIM | Chair, Solid Tumor Oncology and Investigational Therapeutics, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System
Dancing with Charlotte Ballet’s Sarah Hayes Harkins to benefit Cancer Research Innovations Fund at Carolinas HealthCare Foundation
**Judge’s Choice Award Winners**
Ed and Sarah won the Judge’s Choice Award for their routine, which featured choreography inspired by Michael Jackson and included a special cameo by his son Alex.
Dr. Kim received a perfect score of 30 from the judging panel, which included: Liz Hilliard, creator and owner of Hilliard Studio Method; Mike McGuire, CEO of Grant Thornton and last year’s Peoples’ Choice Winner; and Katie Levans Loveluck, co-founder and creative director of Charlotte Agenda.
Weston & Chelsea
WESTON ANDRESS, Regional President Western Carolinas, PNC Bank
Dancing with Charlotte Ballet’s Chelsea Dumas to benefit The Mint Museum
Sonja & James
SONJA GANTT | Executive Director, CMS Foundation
Dancing with Charlotte Ballet’s James Kopecky to benefit the CMS Foundation
Judy & Josh
JUDY WISHNEK | Market Executive, Capital Bank
Dancing with Charlotte Ballet’s Josh Hall to benefit YMCA of Greater Charlotte’s Y Readers Program
Tom & Raven
DR. TOM ZWENG | EVP and Chief Medical Officer, Novant Health
Dancing with Charlotte Ballet’s Raven Barkley to benefit Novant’s Nursing Education Fund
Are you an attendee looking for your own photos? Find them HERE.
Photos by Jeff Cravotta, Isil Dohnke and Heather Fink
