I don’t dance. Just don’t. Don’t even ask. My poor wife, who loves to dance, has given up on even trying.
So what was my name doing on the list of “celebrity dancers” released by the American Lung Association Saturday night in its announcement of the 2nd annual Oxygen Ball's Very Important Dancers? I’m even in the photo of the dancers that looks something like a police lineup. Come to think of it, I would find more comfort being in a police lineup.
Photo caption: Dance partners left to right: Me and Kelle Chancellor; Tiffany Chancellor holding photo of absent Sen. Al Lawson; Molly Kellogg and Shawn Hafer; Blythe Newsome and Darian Chancellor; David Chancellor and Beth Anderson; and Rob Nucatola and Stephanie Hafer.
But there I am lined up next to my partner, Kelle Chancellor, and the competitors. That's just crazy.
Kelle assures me that 20 hours of lessons at Fred Astaire Dance Studio will be enough. She is, after all, a professional dance instructor and can teach anybody. I am a professional dance avoider, at least until now.
I'm not sure I can learn to walk in rhythm in 20 hours, but I'm going to trust Kelle. I have no choice at this point.
And, I’m working on an attitude adjustment, which Kelle says is the key. I have to have fun, let my personality come through, she says. The judges want to be entertained. Obviously, she doesn't know me well yet, so forgive her optimism. Check out photos from the VID announcement at this link.
My problem -- at least in terms of dancing -- goes all the way back to my middle school days when I joined the wrestling team. We liked to listen to music during practice, thinking it helped with our coordination and timing, and it certainly helped take our minds off the agony of hours of painfully hard work.
It helped then, but ever since I have always felt like I was going for a double-leg takedown when the music would go on. In most cases, doing that kind of thing at social events involving women is not good and at times inappropriate and embarrassing.
Photo by Phil Sears/Tallahassee Democrat
Kelle and I start our practices/lessons/prayer sessions this week. After just one meeting, her enthusiasm and confidence has me believing I just might be able to pull this off.
But we need your help. To support us, and really more importantly, to support the tremendous work of the American Lung Association, go to www.taloxygenball.org to vote for Kelle and me. Whichever couple gets the most financial support wins the Fan Favorite award.
Women of Tallahassee, think of it this way: If I can pull this off you can hold this over your reluctant partner, spouse or boyfriend and say, "If that lug can do it, you can, too. Get out there and dance." So vote with your dollars for me and Kelle.
And you should come to the big night. Tickets to the Oxygen Ball, which sounds like it will be a spectacular and glamorous event, are $100 each, with tables going for $800. The ball is Oct. 17 at the newly (and still being) renovated Hotel Duval in its eighth-floor ballroom, which will offer views of downtown when it opens. For more information on the ball, go to the Web site or call (850) 386-2065. You can also e-mail Patty Ballantine at pballantine@lungfla.org.
I should tell you that while I’m as nervous about this as anything I’ve ever done, now that I’m in, I’m in all the way. Kelle and I plan to work hard and try to win the Judges Award, which is based on the actual dance competition, just as they do on ABC's “Dancing with the Stars” program.
Me dancing. Imagine that. I'm sure that's what some others thought, too, before they danced on the reality TV show.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., the boxing champion, took part in the competition. So did hard-hitting NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp, Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor and the greatest wide receiver Jerry Rice. ESPN's Kenny Mayne and Apple's Steve Wozniak took part in the TV dancing, too.
If these guys can do it, I can, too, right?
The real reason I'm doing this is bigger than the event, of course. It’s not about the dancers or the competition; it’s to try to help the ALA continue its spectacular work with asthmatic children, its stop-smoking programs and, especially, its support for lung cancer research and education programs.
As a lifelong asthmatic whose mother died 17 years ago after suffering with emphysema, I’m very grateful for the work of the ALA. It seems to me that getting out of my comfort zone for one night is the least I can do to help.
It is something I can do for the community. But I have to tell you, I must really love this place to agree to dance.
Be sure to watch the video from the announcement of the dancers’ party at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio on E. Tennesee Street. It’s below all the text.
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