
BY BILL PHILLIPS
Ron Gallo and Paz Milburn aren’t revealing too much about thedance routine they will perform New Year’s Eve at Boogie with the Stars, other than it will be a lot of fun.
The pair is one of several dance teams who will strut their stuff at the fundraising event and they have been working at their routine for a couple of months now.
“With the amount of work that needed to be put into me, we started in early September,” said Gallo with a laugh.
The format for Boogie With the Stars is similar to the television show Dancing with the Stars in that dancers, with perhaps less experience, are teamed with experienced dancers and they all compete for bragging rights on New Year’s Eve, in addition to raising funds for charities along the way.
Gallo is paired with Milburn who, along with her husband Peter, created Boogie With the Stars in 2010.
“I wanted him to familiarize himself with the steps that we will do at our performance,” said Milburn of Gallo’s dance training. “Now we are starting play the music and dance with it, so the routine is starting to come together.”
Gallo says audience members will recognize the routine when they see it and hear the music, but it will be modified a bit.
“There’s just no way that I’m going to be able to emulate the people who did the dance,” said Gallo. “When we talk about challenges, there’s definitely challenges but if you’ve never danced … take it up … for someone who has spent as much time around music as I have, I’m surprised at how bad I am when it comes to dancing.”
He stressed that Milburn has been very supportive and an excellent teacher.
“I haven’t used the stick yet,” she said with a laugh. “Get those feet moving and those hips shaking.”
The event is a charity fundraiser with the Prince George Hospice House being the main charity. However, there is a charity challenge aspect to the event this year and each team will have a charity they’ll be raising money for.
Gallo is also raising funds for Hospice House, who helped out with the Hospice Dream Home Lottery a few years back.
“It was completely eye-opening,” he said. “The work that is being done out of Hospice is exceptional … There are no words to put on for what Hospice does for the families of those we’re about to lose.”
Gallo is hoping to raise at least $2,000 for Hospice. He says he got involved in Boogie With the Stars because he is a big supporter of the community.
“The City of Prince George has a warmth about it and it resonates from the people that live in it,” he said. “I want to do whatever I can when another charity or organization is looking for assistance. If I can help in any way, I want to be able to help out.”
He was in the crowd at the 2016 Boogie with the Stars and felt at that time that he wanted to get involved in 2018.
“It’s kind of been in my bucket list, and I’m not really sure why,” he said. “The event itself, on New Year’s Eve, was breathtaking. To see the people in their costumes, to see the people dancing for everyone else, I just wanted to be a part of it.”
The event, of course, is less than a month away now so it’s coming down to the crunch. Most of the stars have sold their tickets already and all are getting their routines ready.
“It’s challenging, but it’s coming together,” Milburn said of the dance preparations. “We’re hoping by mid-December we’re able to do a dress rehearsal.”
So your plans for New Year’s Eve are set. Buy a ticket for Boogie With the Stars and enjoy some top-notch dancing.
You can support Ron Gallo’s fundraising efforts here: