Dancing for the Stars Sold Out

The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) announced today that its annual fundraiser, Dancing for the Stars, scheduled for Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Music Hall Ballroom is SOLD OUT.  The event, now in its fifth year, benefits CAA’s Overture Awards and Academy – the nation’s largest locally run high school arts scholarship competition.

Inspired by the hit ABC-TV show Dancing with the Stars, Dancing for the Stars will feature eight Cincinnati celebrities paired with some of the area’s finest professional dancers in a competition program at which the audience will vote for their favorite celebrity dancer. The stars include: Richard Boehne (president & CEO, The E.W. Scripps Company), Patty Brisben (CEO & founder, Pure Romance & The Patty Brisben Foundation), Carri Chandler (external affairs specialist, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.), Sue Gilkey (community volunteer, ballroom dance enthusiast), Andy Holzhauser (founder, Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance), Sean Parker (manager, Ohio government & community relations, The Procter & Gamble Company), Tracey Skale, M.D. (chief medical officer, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral  Health Services), and Mike Wong (restaurateur, Oriental Wok Restaurants).

THE OVERTURE AWARDS
The Overture Awards Scholarship Competition is the largest locally run arts scholarship competition in the country.  The program annually provides a $2,500 scholarship to six area high school students for education and training, with 18 finalists each winning a $500 scholarship.  Each year, nearly 500 students are nominated by their schools to compete in one of six artistic disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art or Vocal Music.

The Overture Awards was developed to recognize, encourage and reward excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12. It also provides students an opportunity to share their talents and interests among their peers in a supportive environment outside of their individual schools. All former and potential competitors are also given the opportunity to study with professionals in their discipline at the Overture Academy, scheduled annually each Fall. Now in its 15th year, The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation and Leadership Cincinnati (a Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber program).