PHOTOS BY JENNIFER COLTON
Stars tangoed, two-stepped and shimmied their way across the stage on Saturday night, but only one took home the mirror ball trophy: Hermiston attorney Sally Anderson Hansell.
“I had no idea. I’m really surprised. I thought Steve (Williams) would outpace me on all three counts,” Anderson Hansell said after the Dancing With Your Hermiston Stars event was over. “There was some stiff competition – Travis’ shirt alone.”
Anderson Hansell joined Steve Williams, Travis Eynon, Laurie Fialka, Michelle Jensen and Kim Puzey in the event, which pitted the six against each other to raise money for charities. The charities represented were: Sisters Influencing Survivorship, Eradicate Polio, Martha’s House, Vange John Memorial Hospice, Hermiston Education Foundation and Shelter Box.
The stars each had one week of practice with professionals from the Utah Ballroom Dance Troupe before the performance.
In a video before each dance, the stars and their partners explained their dance, spoke about practicing and tried to convince the audience to vote for them by challenging patriotism, suggesting the audience vote for the dancer with the shiniest head and even a good natured threat from Eynon, the administrative captain for the Hermiston Police Department.
“Vote for me because I have the resources to find out who did not,” Eynon said.
(CHECK OUT THE PHOTO GALLERY FROM SATURDAY NIGHT)
Bryn Browning, Bryan Wolfe and “Sophie” Wambeke – Jordawn Wambeke’s “twin sister” from South America – served as judges for the evening, handing out scores, critiques and praise. The judges’ scores slowly climbed as the night went on.
Eynon went first, receiving 23 points for his disco. Despite a large number of fans in the crowd – waving paperdolls of him in a leisure suits – Eynon seems to prefer his day job.
“Honestly, give me a barrage of bullets any day,” he said.
Next to hit the dance floor was Puzey, who said he felt sorry for his dance partner.
“My first reaction to Jen was pity for her because I’m such an old guy it’s hard to teach me anything,” he said.
A story-telling Tango earned Puzey 25 points, and Fialka’s country two-step garnered 27. Fialka took the stage to “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,” complete with a hat, horse and a few tricks in her boots.
“I love it,” Fialka said of the experience. “The hardest part of this has been trusting my feet over what my head thinks.”
While Fialka hit the stage at a gallop, Jensen began completely stationary, as a plastic Barbie doll complete with a larger-than-life pink box. Her cha-cha to Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” received 28 points from the judges, and the first 10 of the night.
“Your footwork was awesome. You never missed a beat,” Browning said. “I’ll never look at Barbie the same again.”
Anderson Hansell’s partner, Alex Galvan, called the dance sexy and romantic. The judges agreed.
“Sizzling,” Wambeke said. “It was very sizzling, a dance after my own heart.”
The judges’ score, however, was only one part of the process to select the winners. Each dollar donated to each star’s charity of choice counted as a vote in their favor, as did social media votes. Attendees could also vote with their ticket to the event.
After a presentation of “Hollywood” selections by the Utah Ballroom Dance Troupe, last year’s winner, T.J. Hansell, took the stage for a brief reprise of his winning tango and to pass the crown on to this year’s winner: his wife.
With one mirror ball already on the mantle at home, Anderson Hansell joked about setting her trophy on top of her husband’s.
“Maybe we’ll have mirror ball bookends,” she said.
Overall, Anderson Hansell said the charities were the winners. Each charity will keep all money donated, regardless of winner.
“I’m very pleased for SIS,” Anderson Hansell said, referring to the Hermiston breast cancer support group Sisters Influencing Survivorship. “Thank you for all the donations to a very good cause.”
And for anyone competing in a “Dancing with the Stars” event in the future, Anderson Hansell had one primary bit of advice: Own it.
“That was my mantra: Own it,” she said. “I decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it all the way. All of us did.”
Dancing with the Stars was a production of the Desert Arts Council. The final performance event of the season is a production of “Love Letters” at the Port of Morrow on Feb. 15. Tickets are available for that event at the Desert Arts Council website.
