It may have been one night, but for the dancers and dance schools involved in the second Lithgow Stars Dance for Cancer at the Lithgow Workies on Saturday night, March 9, it was the culmination of months of hard work.
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Each strove to fulfill a fundraising goal as well as present a fantastic dance for the audience. On the way they raised more than $31,000 towards the work of Cancer Council NSW.
You can see Dario Tascini's dance here.
No one who was in the crowd for the performances on Saturday night came away disappointed.
Dario Tascini, jaw-droppingly elegant in frock and three-inch heels, came away with the judges' vote for the dance of the night. Close second was Sarah and Tim Miller who were cool as cats with their Pulp Fiction inspired performance. It was a tie for third between Tania Aussel and Matt Walker and the Absolute Dance Studios 'Mrs Brown Comes to Town' team.
Watch Mrs Brown comes to town here.
The ADS team also took out the award for the highest fundraising total with $4765.
For a team that was pulled together just weeks out from the event after another star withdrew, it was a notable effort.
NSW Fire and Rescue captain Melanie Palmer won the people's choice award. The people’s choice was voted on by text message and cash placed in jars on the night, with $1=1 vote.
Last year's winner had 540 plus points but Mel and her team nearly doubled that with $1021.
Tania and Matt were awarded 'Stars' star', which was voted for among the competitors.
You can watch Elyse Hudson's dance here.
Organisers paid tribute to the local support on show, the hard work of the stars and their dance schools.
2017 contestants and Lithgow City Councillors returned to the 2019 competition, Cr Maree Statham as emcee and Cr Cassandra Coleman on the judging panel.
See Tania and Matt's dance here.
The other judges were previous Star of Bathurst Stephen Harper and Andrea Wills, from Dancing Divas Bathurst.
Overall the event raised $31,032, which will go towards local Lithgow and NSW initiatives as well as world class research.
"We always hope it’s some thing the stars do that they love and look back on as a positive experience," Cancer Council NSW's Brendon Argyle said.
"As an organisation that is 95 per cent publicly funded we do not take a single penny for granted."
See Sarah and Tim's dance here.
The night included a very successful auction hosted by Ray White, in which vouchers were purchased often at far in excessive of their face value to support the charity.
Finally, $300 was donated for Matt Walker to get rid of his beautifully curled moustache.
See Melanie Palmer's dance here.
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