COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The annual Dancing with our Columbus Stars event is happening Friday at Villa Milano near Westerville.
This year, nine dance couples are competing to raise money for the Byron Saunders Foundation.
Over the past few months, NBC4 weekend anchor Andrea Robinson has been busy breaking in her dance shoes getting ready to dance the night away. Robinson was paired with pro dancer Cedric Eaton.
Eaton won the competition in 2024 with star partner Sameen Dadfar, setting the fundraising record bringing in $30,706. By setting the record, the team was honored the title of the DWOCS Mirrorball trophy naming it the Dadfar Eaton Award.
“Dance is one of the oldest ways of bringing people together, and we get to do that for a good cause,” said Eaton.
The Byron Saunders Foundation works to help feed Thanksgiving meals to central Ohio families in need. Brian Wollenberg is the founder and president of the nonprofit. He said the work it does wouldn’t be possible without the efforts and money raised during their premier event.
“It doesn’t exist without dancing with the stars,” he said. “We might help a thousand or two thousand, but without dancing with the stars, it doesn’t happen.”
Wollenberg said it cost about $50 to feed a family of four.
“We give them a box of nonperishables and a $20 gift card, it’s usually to Kroger or Aldi,” said Wollenberg.
Robinson said Thanksgiving is holds a special place in her heart, having been born the day before and brought home from the hospital on the holiday.
Eaton and Robinson hope by being a part of DWOCS that they can make a difference in their community and help bring families together for the holiday.
“It’s one thing to wake up every day doing something you love, it’s quite another to be able to turn that into somethings that’s going to give other people joy, love,” said Eaton.
This year, DWOCS is doing a movie-themed event where each couple chose a movie to style their dance after. Like many dance pairs, Robinson and Eaton are not revealing their movie choice until showtime.
“It’s a very pink-themed movie, and our costumes will be reflecting that,” said Eaton.
Eaton and Robinson are dancing a fun mix of hustle and samba with quick movements, turns and tricks.
“Samba has a Latin background,” said Eaton. “It’s most popular overseas. We’re doing a bit of an American version to complement the hustle that we’re doing. Hustle’s been around since the ’70s, and it’s the dance that lives in the clubs.”
During last year’s event, dancer raised about $120,000. The goal for this year is to top that at $150,000.
You can vote for Eaton and Robinson by donating at the link. Each dollar equals one vote.
If you’d like to donate by check, you may make the check payable to The Byron Saunders Foundation. If you are donating in the form of a vote, please include a note indicating the dance pair you are voting for. You can mail it to The Byron Saunders Foundation, P.O. Box 268, New Albany, OH 43054.
