The third annual North East Outreach and Support Services winter gala hit the dance floor for Dancing with the Stars: Naicam Edition Season 2 event to much success.
Six couples and one dance troupe hit the floor at the Nov. 25 event after six weeks of training with choreographers Chisa Glendenning and Hugh Kernaleguen, learning routines and getting ready to compete.
In the end, Rob and Melissa Kreutzwieser took home the judge’s choice award and Jason and Christina Hutchinson took home the people’s choice award for their dance.
Rob and Melissa met on the dance floor, so competing on one was no giant leap, but the heavy choreography was a challenge, said Melissa.
“It’s definitely a marriage check-in when you’re trying to do something like that with your spouse. That and renovations,” she said.
Glendenning was a big part in getting the couples through that, said Melissa, with the practices always being a positive place, even if you felt you had a bad practice.
While many of the couples had never danced before, Glendenning said it is all about working with their natural abilities and bring that out.
Working with the different couples, Glendenning got to be creative and work on the many different styles of dance.
Coming together in such a fun way for a cause like North East Outreach, Rob said he hopes they showed other couples that they could do it, too.
“It’s intense at the beginning but once you get into it, it’s a lot of fun.”
While Rob was more comfortable on skates before taking the lessons, he is more than willing to try any dance now that he sees the fun in it.
This was also an opportunity to include their own kids in their routine with their two youngest children, McKenna and Wyatt, as well as a couple other young dancers, joining them on the floor for a flash mob during their routine.
Jason and Christina also have children who dance so they were a big reason why they decided to take to the dance floor themselves, said Christina.
“We wanted to go out and show them that we could go out and dance in support of them.”
This was also something that they could do together, she said, since her and Jason are often running in different directions.
“The time we got together and the laughs we got... it was fun.”
With so many good reasons to join in on the fun, this was also a great cause to support, said Christina, with many people needing help but people not always recognizing the need.
The second annual event was an exciting time for Jennifer Peterson, a North East Outreach administrative assistant, with tickets nearly sold out with 250 tickets sold and all proceeds going to their domestic violence shelter, emergency receiving home and outreach programs.
The event was a labour of love for Peterson and her family, who wanted to give back since Peterson started working with the organization.
While everyone had a good time, the event works to start the conversation regarding domestic violence issues in rural, northeast Saskatchewan, said Peterson.
“People realize what they’re coming out for and what they’re supporting and it just makes you stop and think. And if you can spread that word and get the dialogue opened up, then any event helps.”
Rural residents do not realize how much domestic violence impacts the community and the people around them, said Peterson.
“By showing support, it raises awareness and brings funds in so we can just keep on growing, covering more ground, raising even more awareness, and ending interpersonal violence altogether.”
Starting that dialogue, especially with young people, is important in confronting the issue, said Peterson, but we still have a lot more work to do.
Waiting lists are not uncommon at the shelter, with an 85 per cent capacity at all times and the emergency home running at full capacity since they opened October 2016.
Whenever space does become available, it is filled within a matter of hours, said Peterson.
Counsellors with the outreach programs go as far as Watson, Hudson Bay, Kinistino, Kelvington, Nipawin and even as far north as Cumberland House, as well as doing presentations in schools and churches.
Outreach counsellors present on anything from interpersonal violence to teen dating to healthy relationships as well as do workshops bi-weekly in Melfort.
“There’s always workshops going on and things they’re doing to help.”
