DANCING FOR THE STARS 2012 To Be Held At Music Hall Ballroom 4/14/12

Who will be voted Cincinnati's best celebrity dancer? Which stars have the right moves to rule the dance floor? Find out on Saturday, April 14, 2012 when the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) presents its sixth annual Dancing for the Stars at the Music Hall Ballroom to benefit CAA's Overture Awards– the nation's largest locally run high school arts scholarship competition.

Inspired by the hit ABC-TV show Dancing with the Stars, Dancing for the Stars will feature eight Cincinnati celebrities paired with some of the area's finest professional dancers in a competition program, at which the audience will vote for their favorite celebrity dancer. The competitive dance for the evening will be the Cha Cha, and each dance pair will have 90 seconds to woo the crowd and the judges.

In addition, Dancing for the Stars will feature:
· Silent auction
· Showcase performance by a 2012 Overture Award finalist in dance
· The swinging sounds of Sound Body Jazz Band
· Pre-event reception and wine tasting
· Open dancing before and after the competition
· Lite bites provided by some of Cincinnati's finest restaurants and caterers
· Cash bar

The event will benefit the stars of tomorrow – the talented high school artists who participate each year in CAA's Overture Awards. The Dancing for the Stars committee includes: Phil Schworer (chair, Dancing for the Stars 2009 winner), Dr. Tracey Skale, MD (Dancing for the Stars 2011 winner), Christina Bolden, Terry Foster, Sue Gilkey, Jim Howland, Ginger Loftin, and Rosemary Schlachter.

Tickets are currently on sale at the following levels (a portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible):
$100 – Patron (includes pre-event reception and two drink tickets)
$1,000 – Corporate Table (ten Patron level tickets and a half-page black and white program ad)
$1,500 – Celebrity Circle Table (premium, "first-row" viewing of competition area, ten Patron level tickets, full-page black and white program ad, recognition on event signage)

RESERVATIONS AND INFORMATION:
(513) 977-4104
Aronoff Center Ticket Office
www.CincinnatiArts.ORG

THE STARS:
Janeen Coyle (On-Air Personality, WGRR-FM)
Chief James Craig (Police Chief, Cincinnati Police Department)
Peter Hiltz (Financial Advisor, Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC)
Candace Klein (Attorney, Ulmer & Berne, LLP; CEO, Bad Girls Venture)
Dr. Michael Leadbetter, MD (Cosmetic Surgeon, Plastic Surgery Group)
Joe Rigotti (Creative Director, Accent on Cincinnati; Event Planner)
Moe Rouse (Community Volunteer)
Regina Russo (Director of Marketing and Community Relations, Cincinnati Art Museum)

THE PROS:
Doreen Beatrice (Step-n-Out Studio)
Leigh Bradshaw (Cincinnati Ballroom Company)
Bonita Brockert (Step-n-Out Studio)
J. Patrick Clements (Dare To Dance Studio)
Brandon Etheridge (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Cincinnati)
Desiree Mainous (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Cincinnati)
Jeremy Mainous (Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Cincinnati)
Greg Underwood (independent dance professional)

THE HOSTS: Chris O'Brien ("Married With Microphones," 103.5 WGRR-FM) and Tanya O'Rourke (WCPO-TV anchor and Dancing for the Stars 2010 alum)

THE JUDGES: TO BE ANNOUNCED

EVENT SPONSOR: Stock Yards Bank & Trust

THE OVERTURE AWARDS
The Overture Awards is the largest locally run arts scholarship competition in the country. The program annually provides a $2,500 scholarship to six area high school students for education and training, with 18 finalists each winning a $500 scholarship. Each year, more than 450 students are nominated by their schools to compete in one of six artistic disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art or Vocal Music. There are three levels of competition: Regional, Semi-Finals and Final.

The Overture Awards was developed to recognize, encourage and reward excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12. It also provides students an opportunity to share their talents and interests among their peers in a supportive environment outside of their individual schools. Now in its 16th year, The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation and Leadership Cincinnati (a Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce program).

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of the Tri-state's finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves more than 700,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached three-quarters of a million students.

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