10 Jul Strictly for Dementia 2019
On Saturday, June 8th a crowd of 400 gathered in the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan to cheer on their friends and family in the 2019 Strictly for Dementia and Africa Event. Partnering with Self Help Africa (SHA), Saint Joseph’s recruit half of the volunteer dancers and SHA the other half, then they join forces and become one dance troupe raise funds for two wonderful charities!
This event has raised over €200,000 for both charities over the last four years and also raised a lot of pulse rates on the night, as the dancers (all volunteers) put on show to remember and this year was no different.
Dancers volunteered or were ‘volunteered’ by friends to take part over 6 weeks of training and rehearsals. Some of the dancers had only ever taken to the dance floor at weddings or nights out, but they were quickly whipped into shape by choreographers Lizzie Conroy and Elise Brennan and were all matched with a partner and a allocated a specific dance style.
Dances included, Salsa, Samba, Quickstep, Rock n Roll, Show dance, Jazz, Rockabilly, Country, Charleston, Cha Cha, Tango, Jive and Disco – for some dancers who may have thought that salsa was a dip for their nachos, this was a challenging few weeks!
People say it is all about taking part but following 6 weeks of training there was a hint of competitive spirit on the night! With 33% of the total score from the fundraising / sponsorship money, 33% from the judges votes and 33% from the audience vote on the night, there was a lot of vote counting to determine the winning duo.
The judges included Lady Veda, RTE’s Helen Curran, Clelia Murphy of Fair City and contestant in Dancing with the Stars and John Nolan the professional dancer and winner of 2019 Dancing with the stars, and Dustin the Turkey!
A huge congratulations to all the dancers, and the real winners were the two charities raising nearly €45,000.
