FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- A captain with the Basic Officer Leadership Course here showed off some of his dance skills at the Dothan Civic Center June 25 during the second annual Dancing with the Stars, Dothan-Style.
Capt. Roger Garcia, BOLC assistant course manager, partnered with Julie Jacobs, WKMX morning and afternoon show hostess, for the charity event, meant to raise money for the Dothan-Houston County Substance Abuse Partnership program.
The two danced a Salsa to “Valio La Pena” by Mark Anthony, and managed a score of two sevens and an eight.
While not enough to win the overall competition, the two said they enjoyed working together and that it was a great cause for the area.
“We went through the whole routine and only had one slipup, but it didn’t throw us off,” Garcia said. “We did just about everything on cue and I feel really good about it. This is a wonderful cause. Getting more cooperation between the substance abuse programs on post and in the area could be really beneficial for everyone involved.”
The dancers had an unexpected obstacle to overcome prior to the show when Garcia broke his ankle in a personal watercraft accident. He was unable to practice for the entire month of April.
“I thought I would have been the one to break something,” Jacobs said. “We cut the routine from five minutes to three, which was kind of a relief to me.”
Shortening the length of the performance didn’t mean a more relaxed training period, she added. Actually, it meant the opposite.
“Instead of slacking off, we actually said ‘we have to get this done, and get it done now’,” she said. “It made us more determined because we were behind. It was also less to memorize and that’s fine with me.”
Garcia said he was invited to participate in the event by Marta Trevathan, Fort Rucker Zumba and dance instructor, after meeting her at the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration on post.
Despite Jacobs having little dance experience prior to preparing for the event, Trevathan said the two were a great fit.
“When I met (Garcia) I saw that he was a very good dancer and he’s become a wonderful instructor,” she said. “(Jacobs) is such a well-known personality in this area and I thought they would have a lot of chemistry together.”
Trevathan competed in this and last year’s event and said she was happy to get a chance to introduce more people to the various styles involved in Latin dance as well as raising money for a good cause. This year her partner was Ben Stanfield, WTVY News 4 weekend sports anchor. The pair danced a Bolero to “My Heart Will Go On (Instrumental)” the theme from the film “Titanic.”
Last year’s event raised a total of $13,000 while this year’s raised over $50,000, according to Jeffery Biggs, Dothan-Houston County Substance Abuse Partnership community outreach director.
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