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Dance contestants step up for fundraiser

Video

Dancing with the Stars

DuWayne Severson and Marcia Bubrick practice for their Dancing with the Stars performance. The fundraiser is scheduled for March 20 at Craig High School. Click to play

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

DuWayne Severson and Marcia Bubrick practice their rumba routine at Gladys Beauchamp's Janesville dance studio.

JANESVILLE — Marcia Bubrick was trying to get in touch with her sexy side.

DuWayne Severson was struggling to remember his steps.

The two were rehearsing for the upcoming Dancing With the Stars competition with dance instructor Gladys Beauchamp in the basement studio of her east side Janesville home.

“I can act pretty seductive if I want to,” Bubrick said with a mischievous grin.

Preparing “has forced me to concentrate,” Severson said.

“They’re doing very good and have already gotten to the end of their choreography,” Beauchamp said.

Bubrick enthusiastically volunteered to dance in this year’s fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Support Center of Rock County. The event raised $72,000 in its first three years.

“I know nothing about Latin dancing, but I love dancing,” the 69-year-old Janesville woman said.

“I just wanted to help raise money for Alzheimer’s, and thought I could devote my time,” she said.

Severson, 52, a Janesville School board member, was asked to dance by event organizer Dan Wilcox.

“I’m happy to help, humbled to be asked. A lot of people would love to be in our shoes,” Severson said.

The couple, one of six to compete in the fourth annual event, estimated they would train at least 30 hours under the tutelage of Beauchamp, a dance instructor of 40 years.

As the Saturday, March 20, competition nears, dancers will step up their rehearsals.

“It’s a lot of work. I’m using muscles I never used before,” Severson said.

“I didn't know I could be that sore and have a great appreciation for those who do it professionally. After walking with the front of the foot instead of the back the first couple times, I thought, ‘I’m going to die,’ ’’ he said.

Coming into the competition, the slim and trim Bubrick and Severson admitted they don’t exercise regularly or have any formal dance training.

“I had no dance classes but was raised in a family that danced,” Bubrick said.

While dancing for fun, Bubrick said she could fudge the steps.

Here, “I have to keep step,” she said.

Beauchamp picked the song “Whatever Lola Wants” for the couple to dance the rumba to.

“It’s a dance of love,” she said.

“We’re going to set the scene and give the audience some real entertainment,” Beauchamp said.

Their biggest challenge is to understand the principles of dance when they’ve not been dancers, she said.

“I want them to tell the story of a romantic rumba, and they will,” she said.

Beauchamp has instructed dance competitors in three of the four years of the fundraiser.

“I won’t turn out a team that won’t place,” she said. “I set my standards high and have produced first- and third-place winners every time.”

DANCE SCORING

The four Dancing with the Stars judges will score dancers on technique, costumes, music and audience appeal, said Dan Wilcox of the Alzheimer’s Support Center, which organized of the fundraiser.

Teams also can earn bonus points based on the amount of money they collect in sponsorships. Sponsorships of $50 to $499 are worth 10 bonus points, while $3,500 and more earn 50 bonus points, Wilcox said.

For more information on sponsoring a couple, call (608) 314-8500.