WEEKEND: Steppin’ out with Port Angeles’ own version of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ on Saturday

PORT ANGELES — The lifts and flourishes have begun.

The costumes, including a sparkly gold disco number, are spilling out of the boxes.

Yes, “Dancing with the Port Angeles Stars” is about to waltz, fox-trot and cha-cha across the stage.

And while they’re at it, eight local dancers-in-training will tango, disco, salsa, swing and country two-step with everything they’ve got, all in the grand style of the television hit “Dancing with the Stars.”

Our stars will alight Saturday night on the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center stage in a first-time fundraiser for the Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts.

Show time is 6 p.m. Saturday for “Dancing with the Port Angeles Stars” — early, yes.

The after-show party follows at 9 p.m. with more revelry at the Masonic Lodge, completing the 2014 version of the Juan de Fuca Foundation’s annual benefit, formerly known as the Fall Ball.

The touring Utah Ballroom Dance Company has come to town for one week to teach, costume and partner eight local people for one big show.

The octet will compete for audience votes Saturday night; one will take home the mirror-ball trophy.

After their competition, the Utah company professionals will leap onto the stage for their show.

“The first half is the contestants; the second half is our showcase. It’s 90 minutes of dancing,” said company performer Jesse Maher.

He lives in Corvallis, Ore., when not traveling with the troupe.

Despite the name, Maher added, the dancers come from all over the country.

Tickets to the evening dance show at the high school range from $10 for children age 14 and younger to $15 and $25 for adults; for the after-party for adults 21 and older, they’re $20.

Outlets include the Juan de Fuca Festival website, www.JFFA.org, as well as Port Book and News, 104 E. First St., Port Angeles, and the Joyful Noise Music Center, 112 W. Washington St., Sequim.

Tickets also will be available at the door of the Port Angeles High School auditorium, 304 E. Park Ave., and then at the Masonic Lodge at Seventh and Lincoln streets.

Let’s ask the trainees about their previous ballroom-dance experience.

“Oh, man,” was the response from Angela Oppelt. She will be waltzing, Cinderella-like, on this magic night.

Though she’s a novice, the Juan de Fuca Foundation board tapped her as a contestant, and by Tuesday she was already spinning elegantly with her partner.

But “I’m actually pretty mortified,” said Oppelt.

Yet she’s excited about taking lessons with a professional dancer, and full of anticipation about seeing fellow community members out there.

“Chances are you know somebody who’s performing,” said Oppelt, co-owner of the Next Door gastropub.

“I know every single one of the dancers in one way or another,” including Port Angeles High School Orchestra director Ron Jones; Dr. Gene Turner; insurance agent Steve Methner; Franklin Elementary School principal Amity Butler and Peninsula College staff and faculty members Rick Ross, Rosalynn Rees and Janet Lucas.

And while the audience will choose the winner, this contest has a panel of “judges” to add color commentary: occupational therapist Lynda Williamson, dancer and teacher Kayla Oakes and retired teacher and coach Bill Tiderman, all of Port Angeles.

Methner, who also calls himself an absolute beginner, is undergoing what he calls “high-intensity, short-duration training” this week. One last “panic prep” session is set for Saturday.

That night, “it will definitely be an adventure,” added Butler, yet another newbie who has taken on the country two-step as her competition dance.

At the Masonic Lodge, party-goers will have a chance to bid on one dance with the various contestants.

Proceeds from this auction will benefit the Juan de Fuca Foundation, which presents Port Angeles’ Juan de Fuca Festival every May along with concerts throughout the year.

When informed of the dance bidding, Methner recalled his boyhood.

“I got picked last for the baseball team,” he said. He’s OK with this latest round, and says he’s ready to do what it takes to raise money for the foundation.

The after-show party will also have the traditional silent auction of hotel stays and other gifts, as well as drinks and snacks.

Dan Maguire, executive director of the Juan de Fuca Foundation, learned of the Utah Ballroom Dance Company’s “Dancing with the Stars” show at a Northwest Booking Conference last year.

The company brings all the costumes and teaches local dancers from the ground up, Maguire said.

He noted that each Port Angeles Star is “totally new to ballroom dance” except for Rees, who is a Latin dance teacher.

But for all eight, performing on stage before an 1,150-seat auditorium in their home town should be a fresh experience.

“Come see someone you know,” added Oppelt, “doing something out of their comfort zone.”