Looking for a last minute Christmas gift? Tickets to the Jan. 12 Stars Dance for the Arts event at the Community Council for the Arts will promise recipients an evening of good food, libations and an array of dancing talent. Nine local couples will showcase their dancing skills as they compete for three awards to be presented at the end of the evening.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. where heavy hors d’oeuvres and two cash bars will be available from 7 to 8 p.m. Couples will begin dancing at 8 p.m., followed by an intermission during which coffee and dessert will be served.
Tickets are limited and can be purchased online or at the arts center. Each ticket is $50 and includes food, cash bar and one vote during the event. Voting online and at the arts center is in full swing. Online voting will end at midnight Jan. 11; however, voting can occur by ticket holders present at the event for $10/ballot.
Sponsorships are available and include event tickets based on the level of sponsorship. Call the arts center or visit the website for more information and to vote.
Dancers will be competing for three trophies. The Mirror Ball will be awarded to the couple with the highest combined popular vote and judges’ scores. The Popular Vote trophy will go to the couple with the highest number of votes tallied from online and night of the event voting. The couple with the highest combined judges’ score will receive the Judges’ Trophy.
Two of the couples dancing for the trophies are Nora Parker and Dr. John Herlong, and Cherita Lytle and Joe Exum.
Parker grew up in Kinston and graduated from Kinston High School in 1977. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from ECU and later completed three semesters towards a master’s degree in physical therapy. She studied dance at the NC School of the Arts and Western Kentucky University and spent eights summers studying dance in New York City.
A dancer/choreographer for the Pepsi Dancers and numerous high school and regional Broadway shows, she opened her Kinston studio, the L’Academie de Danse, 33 years ago, adding a studio in Winterville in 2009. Active in Gordon Street Christian Church, she is a deacon and sings in the choir.
A lover of animals, Parker shares her home with a Westie named Hannah and a cat, Toonces. Dancing and singing are her life, and she is looking forward to partnering with the multi-talented Herlong to perform the jitterbug.
Herlong came to Kinston in 1998 after receiving undergraduate and master’s degrees from Furman University and a doctorate of medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina. For the past 14 years, he has practiced radiology with Eastern Radiologists, Inc. He is chairman of radiology at Lenoir Memorial Hospital and will soon assume the position of president of the Lenoir Memorial executive medical staff.
He and his wife Renee have three daughters, Emma, Sydney and Hannah. He is on the boards of directors of Arendell Parrott Academy and the Lenoir Memorial Foundation. Active in St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, he is a member of the choir and vestry and a cast member of St. Mary’s yearly production of the Boar’s Head Festival.
One of his dreams was to perform on Broadway, but he has discovered he “can sing and dance as much as I want right here in Kinston.” He is also an avid tennis player, golfer, sailor and kite surfer, and loves to home brew. In his “spare time,” he paints, having sold several oil paintings through the arts center.
“I’ll finally get a chance to dance with a Kinston dance icon,” he said of his jitterbug partner.
Lytle is a native of Morganton and now resides in Greenville. She graduated from ECU with a BFA in dance education.
For the past 11 years, she has performed with the Eastern NC Dance Foundation’s pre-professional dance company, Dance Collective, where she is manager and choreographer.
She continues to develop her dancing skills through classes and conferences throughout the country, including the Dance Teacher’s Web Conference and Expo, the Broadway Dance Center in New York and the Boulder Jazz Dance Conference in Colorado. She has choreographed and judged competitions and pageants throughout Eastern NC.
When not involved with dancing, she enjoys “hanging out” with her 4-year-old daughter, who is her greatest joy in life. She and her partner will be dancing an Argentine Tango.
Exum, CEO of Happy Jack, Inc., was reared in Snow Hill. A graduate of Virginia Episcopal School and UNC, he earned an MBA at the University of Wyoming. He and his wife Jeannie have three children, Sallie, Manning and Jay. An avid tar heel, he states his greatest joy in life is his family.
Exum is actively involved with numerous state, community and church activities. He was a charter member of the N.C. Small Business Advocacy Council and is executive director of the Friends of Man’s Best Friends, a 501(3c) charity which raises funds to effect spay/neuter procedures. He is executive director emeritus of the Bogue Banks Environmental Stewardship Corporation. At St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, he is member of the vestry and sponsored a boat family that had escaped Vietnam.
Among his hobbies are fishing, hunting golf, football and travel. He says he is “anxious” about the Stars Dance for the Arts event since he honed his skills at the Pavilion at Atlantic Beach and the Sigma Nu frat house in Chapel Hill.
To find out more about voting and sponsorship, call 252-527-2517 or go to dancekcc.com.
Stars Dance for the Arts
8 p.m. Jan. 12
Community Council for the Arts
410 N. Queen St.
Dinner: 7 to 8 p.m.
Light hors d’oeuvres
Mediterranean torte
Gorgonzola, pecan and cranberry cheese ball
Goat cheese log with honey and pistachios
Assorted cheeses, crackers and fresh fruit
Heavy hors d’oeuvres
Beef tenderloin (carving station)
Pork tenderloin (carving station)
Salmon with crackers
Mashed potato bar
Fresh sautéed green beans with mushrooms
Fresh greens salad with creamy vinaigrette dressing
Apple and blueberry muffins
Desserts and coffee served at intermission
Tickets: $50; Votes: $10 each