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AROUND TOWN

Staff photos by Armando Rios

Ballroom Bootcamp

Temple Israel hosts a different kind
of dance opportunity.

E

Steve Jasgur of Joe Cornell Entertainment teaches Debbie Rottman of Farmington

Hills.

Becca Schlussel of Joe Cornell

Jules Tabak of West Bloomfield and

Entertainment demonstrates basic

Zelda Rose of Farmington Hills practice

steps.

their dance steps.

very Monday night, celebri-
ties like country singer Billy
Ray Cyrus and women's box-
ing champion Laila Ali (daughter of
former heavyweight champ
Muhammad Ali) shake, shim-
my, whirl and twirl with profes-
sional dance partners in front
of a national audience on the
ABC-TV hit show Dancing with
the Stars. The show's judges
rate the performances and the
audience votes, deciding who
did the best job with difficult
dances like the rumba, mambo,
tango and waltz.
At Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield, there was no pressure or
competition; but more than 120 people
got a taste of what the show is like dur-
ing "Ballroom Bootcamp — Dancing
with the Stars (of David!)" The April
26 program was led by Steve Jasgur of
Birmingham and his sister, Rebecca
Schlussel of West Bloomfield, co-own-
ers of the Southfield-based Joe Cornell
Entertainment.
"It takes a long time and a lot of prac-
tice to do what they're doing on TV:'
said Jasgur, who admits he's a big fan of
Dancing with the Stars. "There was a lot
of laughing and stepping on toes, but we
taught them some basic steps they can
string together!'
The group was divided up like a high
school dance class — men on one side of
the room, women on the other. Schlussel
and Jasgur demonstrated portions of

three different dances — the merengue,
cha cha and fox trot. Then people took
turns trying out the steps with different
partners, whether they came with some-
one or not. The Joe Cornell
owners volunteered their time
and services for the event as a
way to give back to the commu-
nity. They plan to offer similar
bootcamp sessions at other area
congregations.
"We had a terrific response
and a great turnout among all
ages," said Tracie Fineman, the
temple's programming director.
"Dancing with the Stars is such
a huge hit right now, bringing
this latest craze right to Temple Israel was
really a lot of fun!"
Spotted moving and grooving among
the bootcamp crowd were: Lisa and
Bill Barnett of Farmington Hills; Lisa
and Brian Boettcher, Caryn and Steve
Gross, and Dorothy and Robert Hack,
all of West Bloomfield; Shelley and Jim
Boschan, and Sharon Fishman, all of
Bloomfield Hills; and Lori and Brian
Serlin of Huntington Woods.

Joe Cornell has been teaching ball-
room dancing to sixth- and seventh-
graders since 1957. The company
specializes in pre-teen dance classes
and MC-hosted dance parties. For
information, call (248) 356-6000 or
go to their Web site,
www.joecornell.com .

at,:kr
Sari Roland and Paula Mellin, both of West

Julie Ritten and Irwin Suternick, both

More than 120 people took part in "Ballroom Bootcamp — Dancing with the Stars (of

Bloomfield

of West Bloomfield

David!)."

32

May l7 2007

