Dancing with the Stars--Luther College edition

Amanda Bailey, Luther head women's basketball coach, Kevin Wenger, Ylvisaker hall director, Joan deAlbuquerque, director of bands and associate professor of music (all photos courtesy of Luther College Ballroom and Swing FB page)

Three Luther College faculty members paired with three students from Luther's ballroom club will go head to head in the annual "Dancing with the Luther Stars." Inspired by the popular ABC show, the event returns to the Luther campus at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Center for Faith and Life Main Hall.
    
"Dancing with the Luther Stars" features Luther head women's basketball coach Amanda Bailey and Luther senior Stephen Ste; Luther director of bands and associate professor of music Joan deAlbuquerque and Luther senior Joshua Weisenburger; and  Ylvisaker hall director Kevin Wenger and Luther senior Jessica Skjonsby.

The duos began practicing at the beginning of the academic year.  They will each present two dances to a panel of judges.  Both the judges and the audience will decide the winners.  The audience will vote using a voting system available on mobile phones to choose their favorite couple, allowing them to help decide who will go home with the "Dancing with the Luther Stars" trophy.

Amanda Bailey was asked to be a part, representing athletics. Bailey who is always up for a good challenge found it hard to say no.  "We started working on technique last fall since I haven't had any formal dance training at all.  Once we started working on choreography we were practicing three times a week anywhere from 1-2 hours at a time," she said.

She summed it up by saying, "This has been a really fun and eye-opening experience.  It isn't every day that you get the opportunity to step completely out of your comfort zone and compete in front of a large crowd.  This event is put on completely by the Luther Ballroom and Swing Club and they have put a lot of work into it.  They are a very talented and energetic group and I am grateful for the opportunity to get a look at their world."

The event is sponsored by Luther College Ballroom and Swing and SAC Special Events. Tickets, on sale in Luther's Ticket Office, are $5, and may be purchased online at www.tickets.luther.edu or via the Luther Ticket Office, (563) 387-1357 or tickets@luther.edu