6th Annual Dancing with the Desert Stars
Bringing brighter holidays to women and children affected by HIV
The 100 Women annual giving program at Desert AIDS Project (D.A.P.) provides services throughout the year to HIV-affected women and children, offering everything from access to medical care and special services to school uniforms and backpacks.
“Regardless of the time of year, the empowering thing about this program is that it’s all about women helping women,” said Ann Sheffer, one of the co-chairs of 100 Women. “During the year-end holiday season, 100 Women provides gift cards to supermarkets and department stores making certain that tables are set with good meals and that children have gifts to open,” added co-chair Barbara Keller.
Seven community-minded local celebrities were ready on Saturday, December 17 to do their part, while showcasing their dancing skills … and their fundraising power … to the crowd of more than 600 gathered at the Palm Springs Convention Center for the 6th Annual Dancing with the Desert Stars, presented by Melaleuca, the Wellness Company, and Frank and Belinda Vandersloot. When the evening was over, it had raised an estimated $80,000 including more than $17,000 in Fan Favorite votes.
CEO David Brinkman, dressed for the holidays in red tartan pants, welcomed the crowd and told them how their support was helping D.A.P. and Get Tested Coachella Valley locally achieve the international goal of ending AIDS by 2020 through the UNAIDS 90–90–90 initiative. He gave a special shout-out to Eric Nicoll of The Legacy Group for securing the presenting sponsor, joined by major sponsors Canyon Pacific Insurance and the Grace Helen Spearman Foundation and Steve Tolin. Media sponsors included The Desert Sun, CV Independent, The Standard, Gay Desert Guide, and KMIR-TV.
The evening was co-hosted by Randy Roberts and Jai Rodriguez. Roberts has been entertaining audiences for more than 30 years — particularly well-known for uncanny impersonations of Cher and Bette Midler — and was featured on NBC-TV’s “America’s Got Talent.” Rodriguez — who first came to America’s notice on TV’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” — went on to appear in numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, as well as being a featured vocalist in Lady Gaga’s video “Telephone.”
For the sixth consecutive year, Dave Morgan and Reaction Marketing & Productions elegantly transformed the stage with sparkling trees on either side of the judges: Lucie Arnaz, singer, producer, and Golden Globe-nominated actress; Damian Whitewood, dancer from ABC’s hit TV show “Dancing with the Stars;” and Peter Marc Jacobson, actor, writer, director, and producer of the long-running hit “The Nanny.”
Each of the seven dancers — Dr. Naren Chandrashekar, partner in the Coachella Valley Nephrology & Kidney Institute of the Desert; Jill Gover, director of mental health at the LGBT Community Center of the Desert; Christopher Kennedy of Christopher Kennedy Home Furnishings & Interior Design; Rick Manzano, owner of Creative Take Medical; Mayor Robert Moon, City of Palm Springs; Alexandra Pierce, reporter and weekend anchor for KESQ-TV and CBS Local-TV; and Erin Scott, marketing and public relations manager at The Living Desert — performed two dances. Taking the audience into intermission, after the first round of dancing, was a special performance by Frenchie Davis. Introduced to the world on the second season of “American Idol,” Davis went on to perform in a variety of Broadway shows, including “RENT” and “Dreamgirls,” as well as a role in “Ain’t Misbehavin’” that earned her a Grammy nomination. This evening, she would add yet another standing ovation to her list of kudos.
While the performers prepared to take the stage each time, short videos of Christmas traditions around the world highlighted a variety of countries and regions, like Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Central America. Roberts and Rodriguez returned to the stage after each dance, presenting the performers to the judges for their assessment — as the dancers’ individual cheering sections made clear how they felt.
As the judges made their final determination, a short video played, featuring footage of the evening’s contestants in rehearsals with their professional dance partners — Becky Johnson, Dennis Gimenez, Erica Arnold, Kristin Staszek, Lolo Darrigrandi, Artemi Okunev, and Robert Reinhagen. The video closed with a “tease” from La Bouche, the musical duo that will be performing during the after-party at the 23rd Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards on February 11.
The Fan Favorite leader board, which had appeared periodically throughout the evening, returned to the screens once more to reveal that Christopher Kennedy had cinched that title. But the judges had the job of telling the crowd who would earn bragging rights for the evening: Alexandra Pierce was named first runner-up with Erin Scott being named the 6th Annual Desert Dancing Star.
Her large cheering section … along with the rest of the audience … showed their agreement with the judges’ decision. The smile on Scott’s face was almost as bright as the mirror ball trophy she carried home that evening, adding a special bit of holiday bling.
