A record-breaking 1.28 million dollars were raised at Charlotte Ballet’s Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte Gala to benefit Charlotte Ballet and local charities. The Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte Gala, in its sixth 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 Most Incredible Gala, inspired by Charlotte Ballet’s premiere of The Most Incredible Thing, resulted in a sold-out performance on March 3 at the Knight Theater.
Judges: Patricia Ward Kelly, Hope Muir and Braxton Winston.
The gala was presented by PNC Bank and chaired by Drs. Florence and Edward Kim. Star pairs competed for two awards – People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice. David Secrest, Managing Director for Barings, and Charlotte Ballet dancer Elizabeth Truell won the title of “The People’s Choice” and were awarded for most funds raised.
Civic Leader, Patty Lambert and Charlotte Ballet dancer Juwan Alston were awarded “The Judges’ Choice” for the top score received from the judges. The judges for this year’s gala were Charlotte Ballet’s Artistic Director, Hope Muir, Patricia Ward Kelly, wife and biographer of legendary dancer, director and choreographer Gene Kelly, and Charlotte City Council At-Large representative, Braxton Winston.
MEET OUR STAR PAIRS
ELIZABETH & DAVID: PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNERS
Managing Director for Barings, David Secrest, danced with Charlotte Ballet’s Elizabeth Truell to benefit the Levine Children’s Hospital.
JUWAN & PATTY: JUDGE’S CHOICE WINNERS
Civic Leader, Patty Lambert, danced with Charlotte Ballet’s Juwan Alston to benefit Community School of the Arts.
SARAH & GENE
President and Chief Executive Officer for Atrium Health, Gene Woods, danced with Charlotte Ballet’s Sarah Hayes Harkins to benefit The Eugene Woods Sr. Multiple Myeloma Fund at Carolinas HealthCare Foundation.
SARAH & JOHN
Managing Partner for Cardinal Real Estate Partners, LLC, John Culbertson, danced with Charlotte Ballet’s Sarah Lapointe to benefit proceeds for ovarian cancer research at Levine Cancer Institute.
JAMES & KANDI
President of Central Piedmont Community College, Kandi Deitemeyer, danced with Charlotte Ballet’s James Kopecky to benefit The Opportunity Scholarship Program at Central Piedmont Community College.
DREW & JENNIFER
Western Carolinas Director of Wealth Management at PNC Bank, Jennifer Green, danced with Charlotte Ballet’s Drew Grant to benefit the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation
