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What does Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Rowlf the Dog have to do with Crockett and my first ROAD TRIP? Enjoy the video and we’ll tell you at 5:15pm!
I think it all stems back to my very first, very Polish boyfriend, who had little body hair… There’s something about a lot of chest hair that kind of skeeves me out. Well, “a lot” is the understatement of the year when it comes to the mounds Eric Petersen has (See pic below). HA! I’ve been begging him to let me wax it for years (I wanted to be a cosmetologist) and I’ve finally found the perfect excuse… to help a fellow co-worker! 
As you know, Selena is competing in Dancing with the NEPA Stars on Friday. If Selena wins, Eric’s chest hair goes! That’s a win for everyone involved! The only way for Selena to take home the trophy, though, is with your vote. So, please vote here… for the sake of bare chests everywhere.
PLEASE VOTE: www.scrantonculturalcenter.org/selena
Butch Comegys / Staff Photographer From left, Roger Munchak, Rose Broderick, Brian Fulton, Missy Zaroda, Selena and Mike Walton strike a pose at Step By Step Dance Studio as they prepare for “Dancing with the NEPA Stars.”
They have rehearsed for hours each week for more than a month, learning step-by-step how to groove across the dance floor like a professional.
And this weekend, The Times-Tribune library manager Brian Fulton, Froggy 101 radio host Selena and Advanced Imaging Specialists executive Rosemary Broderick will show the public how far they have come after weeks of hard work.
Themed routines
The performers will take to the stage at the Scranton Cultural Center at The Masonic Temple on Friday night for the second round of “Dancing with the NEPA Stars.” The winner will face Justin Brown, the first-round champion, in the Aug. 19 finale.
Based on the television show “Dancing with the Stars,” the competition pairs local dancing newcomers with experienced performers to raise money for the Cultural Center through votes, which can be cast in advance online for $1 on the Cultural Center’s website, www.scrantonculturalcenter.org, and at the event. The dancer who raises the most money wins the round.
This year’s show follows the theme of “A Night at the Movies,” but organizers are keeping secret which films they are incorporating into the dances. Ms. Broderick will perform a rumba and West Coast swing with Roger Munchak, while Selena will do a foxtrot and cha-cha-cha with Mike Walton. Mr. Fulton will perform a hustle and swing with Missy Zaroda.
Debbie Koshinski-Urban, owner of Step By Step Dance Studio in Scranton, choreographed the routines and picked them “to kind of go with (the competitors’) personalities.” She also has trained them over the last several weeks, an experience she described as hectic but fun.
“They’re really doing a great job,” she said.
Mr. Fulton, whose only formal training before entering the competition was a dance class for gym in college, said his parents and friends watch the television show and are excited for him to participate in the local version. He is looking forward to showing the audience “what we learned (and) what we did in this short amount of time,” and added that it also is a fun way to raise money.
“You get the added benefit of exercise and learning how to dance,” Mr. Fulton said. “There’s a little more to it than (just) having a fundraiser.”
Selena has wanted to participate in the show for several years. She loves to dance, but her previous training also was limited to a college ballroom dance class. People have called the radio station to find out if she really was participating in the show, she said, because they thought it was a joke.
“Everyone at work … thinks I’m a bad dancer,” Selena said. “I wanted to do this to prove them wrong.”
Stepping out
Learning to dance requires a lot of discipline, Ms. Broderick said, acknowledging her dance partner for being patient. And she laughed when pointing out that she has dropped a clothing size since starting training.
“I have a renewed respect for ballroom dancers,” Ms. Broderick said. “When you see it on TV, it looks so easy.”
Jack Martin of Dance Craze DJs again will serve as the show’s DJ and master of ceremonies. Audience members also can learn some moves themselves from a professional dance instructor while there.
If you go:
What: “Dancing with the NEPA Stars,” second round
When: Friday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Scranton Cultural Center at The Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave.
Details: $16, includes drinks and light food
PLEASE VOTE: www.scrantonculturalcenter.org/selena
Check this out! Gamera, a 12-year old African tortoise, had its front left leg amputated due to an injury, but doctors at Washington State University came to the rescue! They attached a swiveling wheel to Gamera’s shell, and now the 23-pound tortoise is moving along just fine! Doctors say the caster style wheel allows him to move well on both flat and bumpy surfaces.
Turtle Talk 07 26 11
Pets can take it just as hard as kids in a breakup. How do you decide who gets the furry buddy?
Christine writes The Wake Up Call:
Dear Eric and Selena,
My boyfriend and I just broke up over the weekend. We’ve been living together for about a year, and now we have to go through the hard part of dividing things up. Our personal items like the tv and furniture are pretty much figured out, but we can’t agree on one big thing: our dog.
We got our pug Chewy when we started living together. It was our first big decision we made together. We both love and take care of the dog equally. I think Chewy should stay in his familiar setting – in the apartment with me (it was my place before we started dating). My ex doesn’t think it’s fair – if he has to move out, he feels he should get the dog.
How do we decide? Are we seriously going to have to have doggy visitation rights?
I was talking about it yesterday… How beautiful NEPA is! I’ve lived here my entire life and although I venture off the beaten path from time to time, I got lost on Saturday – really lost. I was headed out to Lake Wallenpaupack to spend some time on my friend’s boat. Who knew you can’t simply “do a lap” around the lake? As I quickly found out, though, there’s a reason for that – so you can experience great little towns like Hamlin! If you have some time to kill this weekend, go get “lost.” You never know what sorts of fun little towns you’ll find.
If you’re comin’ out to the Robbie and Crockett Tailgate Tour 2011 when it rolls into the Toyota Pavilion at 2pm for Jerrod Niemann/Blake Shelton/Brad Paisley, you’ll see us mixin’ it up with newcomer Brett Eldredge! Check out “The Couch Sessions” to get you ready for the party! First up…”It Ain’t Gotta Be Love.”
This is literally the least helpful video I have ever seen in my entire life! So, why should you watch it? Because it’s freakin’ hilarious, that’s why!
Published: July 21, 2011
Dancing queen …
We recently sashayed our way into a rehearsal at Step by Step Dance Studio in Scranton with Dancing With the NEPA’s Stars contestant Selena to catch a glimpse of her routine before the big competition at the Scranton Cultural Center on Friday, July 29. We are sworn to secrecy about the music you’ll hear, and why Selena’s boa must be pink – really, we haven’t a clue – but we can tell you this: after watching Froggy 101’s Morning Show host in action, this competition is sure to be fierce. She wants to prove to her co-workers that she really can dance, in spite of what they think, plus she wants to raise lots of money for the Cultural Center. Every vote in the contest costs $1 and all proceeds benefit the SCC. If you love waking up with her on Froggy, and you laughed with her when she was a panelist on The View with a Scranton Attitude: Let’s Hear it from the Girls, you won’t want to miss her Fox Trot and Cha Cha. Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Selena always thought she’d be an English teacher, but (lucky for us) her gift of gab and sparkling personality led her to the 570 for a career on the air waves. She and her husband, Ethan, live in Pittston, where they jam to all kinds of music, from Ella Fitzgerald to Tupac, as well as Selena’s country favorites, including Zac Brown Band and Keith Urban. Dancing to a movie night theme at Dancing With the NEPA Stars, it’s time to meet the fabulous Selena…
You look fabulous today! Tell us why you’re all dressed up.
I always walk around like this! (Laughs) I’ve always wanted to do this and I finally got a chance. I’m finally taking part in Dancing With the NEPA Stars. It’s quite an honor. I didn’t realize how much work it is, so I’m in my dress rehearsal costume with the sequins and the gloves now. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to walk around like that all the time? (Laughs) I feel like Audrey Hepburn.
What dance will you perform?
I’ll be doing Fox Trot, and because they couldn’t make it easy, they’re throwing the Cha Cha in there, too. Why not? So a little medley of both.
Have you ever done the Fox Trot or Cha Cha before?
In my mind I thought I had. (Laughs) When you’re watching Dancing With the Stars on TV, I don’t know, you do the couch dancing and I start moving my feet – it’s not the same! It’s a lot harder than what it looks like on television. It really is. There’s a lot of nuances that you have to pick up. I did take ballroom dancing as a gym credit at Penn State, but that was forever ago. It’s been a while.
So you’re learning a lot about the technical aspect of dance, but have you performed in front of a live audience before?
Fifth grade. I had a unitard that was black with white polka dots. Hmmm … wow, it’s like a flashback almost, sequined belt, so yeah, maybe I am kind of reliving my childhood. That was jazz class. That’s why I can’t control my “jazz hands” when I’m on the dance floor!
What’s the most challenging part of learning these dances?
Not to be tacky.
Really?
Yes! You know how if you’re on the dance floor at a wedding, and if the guy dips you, what do you do with your foot? Don’t you usually put it up in the air, right? That’s what I did, and I’m so stuck doing that. But apparently, that’s tacky. You don’t do that. So I had to learn, keep your foot down and little things like that.
They also added an element to the dancing – props – and this was crazy because I’ve been practicing without props and now they’re throwing that boa prop in, so it’s like who would have thought I’d have to add that into my routine?
Then Debbie (Koshinksi-Urban), my instructor, said, “OK, I want you to do your sexy walk.” I did it. And she said, “No, I want you to walk sexy.” So I said, “That is my sexy walk.” That was it! (Laughs) So, if anything else, even if I don’t win Dancing With the NEPA Stars, at least I’m hoping I will learn how to be sexy and do a little sexy dance for the husband. That’s what I’m thinking.
It sounds like a lot of fun, and all this dancing benefits a good cause, too. Tell us how this works.
All the votes are monetary, and with every dollar, that’s a vote towards getting the person you like toward the finals. And 100 percent of that monetary donation, that vote, goes to the Scranton Cultural Center to help with their programs, to help with their building funds, everything.
Are you a competitive person by nature?
Well, I feel like I have something to prove because people think I’m an awful dancer at work.
Why? Was there an office party where you broke into an Elaine dance?
Oh, well, the thumbs go up every now and then and I have a tacky leg kick, you know. (Laughs).
But really, I’ve been practicing – I’ve been sick and I’m still here dancing – I just want to make sure I have the steps down, you know, because I want it to be fun. It’s a lot of work, but at the finale, I want it to look like this is just a breeze.
Any messages for the competition before the big night?
I’m going to be cha-cha-ing behind you … look out! (Laughs).
- julie imel
Selena will take on Brian Fulton of The Times-Tribune and Rose Broderick of Advanced Imaging Specialists on Friday, July 29, at 5:30 p.m. in the grand ballroom of the Scranton Cultural Center. Tickets are $16. Vote for your favorite dancer online until noon on July 29. After that, cast your vote at the Dancing with the NEPA Stars event. Each vote costs $1 and all proceeds benefit the Cultural Center. For more information, visit www.scrantonculturalcenter.org.
Froggy 101
