The teams of Swinging with the Stars on Saturday, Feb. 1. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Swinging stars

Swinging with the Stars raises over $45K

Feb 2, 2025 | 6:45 AM

For the second year, the community embraced whats quickly become a favorite fundraiser. Swinging with the Stars in support of the Battlefords Healthcare Foundation (BHCF) raised over $45,000.

“I’m thrilled, I mean this is just amazing,” said BHCF Executive Director Leanne Ducommun following Saturday’s performance.

Team ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ dance pro Vivian Blais and community competitor Tracy Voigt perform a salsa number during Swinging with the Stars on Sat., Feb. 1. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

“The community has stepped up again, I mean you can feel the electricity in the air, it’s unbelievable.”

The organizers reached out to the would-be performers about a year ago and according to Cayla Ellis, owner of Annette’s School of Dance, they all came with a variety of experience.

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“Some do have a dance background, whether they grew up dancing throughout elementary and high school and then kind of stopped as they entered the workforce,” she said.

“Each of the stars and pros…they have a different style, which required different commitments, different endurance I guess and so it definitely is up to each pro how much time they put in.”

This year’s dance lineup featured a range of styles including tap, jazz, Ukrainian and Highland dancing along with some special guest performances including the Battlefords Blend Choir.

A Highland Dance troupe performed during Swinging with the Stars on Sat., Feb. 1. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

“They all put in so much work practicing, whether that was weekly, whether that was bi-weekly, multiple times a week, putting in multiple hours, so they looked their best on stage and felt confidence in their routines.”

This year, tickets for the event sold out in seven minutes, so the organizers added a preview night on Friday. Ellis said it was her favourite part as the performers had the chance to get their jitters out and embrace the stage.

“Last year we only had one performance so, you’re nervous and you don’t fully take in the full experience,” she said in an earlier interview.

The inaugural year of the Dancing with the Stars fundraiser brought in a total of over $108,000 and this year, Ducommun is hoping donations will bolster what’s already been raised through the event ticket sales.

“This event is only going to get bigger and bigger and we cannot wait,” she said.

“This event would not take place without the stars and the pros, they are at the heart of everything that we do.”

The winners of the evening, as voted on by the audience, were Team Swinging Sensations – Joelle Kuntz and Braiden Stevenson.

“It’s hard not to be feeling good. Even if we hadn’t won an award, I still think we’d still be feeling pretty good,” said Stevenson.

“We just had so much fun doing it and preparing for it and then the lead up to the night and the anticipation and then actually performing it, it was just so much fun,” added Kuntz.

According to Stevenson, he knew they could have fun with performing a Swing number as he had some experience in his career as a dancer.

“We just loved getting together and started incorporating more of those tricks and stuff into the more Swing, Lindy Hop style,” he said.

For her part, Kuntz did her very first backflip at the age of 40.

“One day I showed up and he had gym mats out and I was like ‘What is happening?’” she said.

Then he started showing her video of different moves and her reaction was less than enthusiastic – at first. After starting out slowly during rehearsals, they left it all out on the dance floor Saturday.

“So whatever and now we can just do it with our eyes closed.”

Meanwhile, the award for the most funds raised went to Kilted and Confused featuring Jose Pruden and Shannon Hamilton-Rask. The judges choice award went to The Dynamic Duo’s Lhey Tayer and Jacy Lloyd.

Team Hot and Cold’s Jerry Koliniak and Jacqueline Reynolds perform a Ukrainian dance routine during Swinging with the Stars on Sat., Feb. 1. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Other performances of the evening were Svoboda Ukrainian Dancers, Dance Connection, NB House of Pain, Highland Dance and Annette’s School of Dance. The teams included Hips Don’t Lie featuring Tracy Voigt and Vivian Blais, The Dream Team’s Town Councillor Clay Lazar and Jade Menssa, Team Hot and Cold’s Jacqueline Reynolds and Jerry Koliniak and Team Rockin’ Taps Jonathon Kadler and Sara-Lee Reimer.

Judges for the evening were Linda Machniak, Rob Rongve and Jim Schevchuck and the emcee was Nic Fransoo, Pattison Media’s program director.

Dance Connection perform a routine during Swinging with the Stars on Sat., Feb. 1. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Speaking about the performers, Ducommun explained that watching their transformation though their relentless work “is the most beautiful gift’ and through their efforts, their advocacy for health care shines.

This year, the foundation is looking to raise funds for two pieces of equipment: an LP15 defibrillator for the operating room and T1 Ventilator (Transport ventilator) for the emergency room.

“Both of these pieces of equipment are absolutely critical to the hospital and for the care of the Battlefords and region.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia,com