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The stars were shining on the red carpet, and the stage of Knight Theater, during a fundraising gala for the North Carolina Dance Theatre Feb. 23. Co-hosts Midge Barron and Hugh McColl Jr. organized the fun dance competition that raised $350,000.
It paired business leaders with dancers from the troupe: Belk CEO Tim Belk, Tera Black of the Charlotte Checkers, Bank of America’s Charles Bowman, Wells Fargo’s Julie Caperton, NFL veteran Muhsin Muhammad, and Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation’s Paula Vincent. Another contestant, Carolinas HealthCare System’s Michael Tarwater, performed with a dancer from Metropolitan Ballroom.
Event planner Todd Murphy had all the details in place, including phenomenal food from select restaurants that were serving their specialties at food stations. After cocktails and dining, everyone gathered in the theater for the competition that started with a troupe performance of a dance Tarwater especially commissioned in honor of his wife and the day they met.
During the competition, everyone gave it their all to the delight of the crowd. All those practice sessions paid off, and everyone put on outstanding performances. Bowman and his dance partner, Melissa Anduiza, won the People’s Choice Award. Judges Jerry Richardson, Maureen O’Boyle and Scott Provancher chose Tarwater and his dance partner as their winner. Afterward, McColl and Barron danced on stage with joy as other guests got up to join them for the after-party, where everyone could show off their own moves to the band Big Blast.
