{"id":36934,"date":"2025-10-02T14:47:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T18:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=36934"},"modified":"2025-10-02T14:47:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T18:47:44","slug":"local-dance-instructors-reflect-on-a-decade-of-dancing-with-the-easter-seals-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/local-dance-instructors-reflect-on-a-decade-of-dancing-with-the-easter-seals-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Local dance instructors reflect on a decade of Dancing with the Easter Seals Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After opening up their ballroom dance school on Industrial Parkway South, burgeoning business owners Anastasia Trutneva, Kelly Stacey, and Patrick Derry sought ways to become more involved in the Aurora community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as a way to help local community leaders strut their stuff on the dance floor while making a difference for charity, has grown into a decade of giving for the principals behind Artistica Ballroom Dance Studios \u2013 and, as they put the finishing touches on the choreography behind this year\u2019s milestone tenth anniversary edition of Dancing with the Easter Seals Stars Aurora Newmarket, they\u2019re reflecting on a whirlwind decade that has taken them places they never expected to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our first year, we truly had no idea what to expect,\u201d says Trutneva. \u201cWe initially saw it as a great opportunity to showcase our up-and-coming studio; however, we quickly realized the immense impact we could make over the years. By teaming up with community stars, we learned how much of a difference we could collectively achieve by uniting an amazing community for an incredible cause.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Derry adds it was the first experience working within the Aurora and Newmarket communities and while they thought Dancing with the Easter Seals Stars would be a good way to use their talents to \u201cdo a little bit of good for a great cause, we didn\u2019t realize that it would introduce us to so many great leaders in the community and inspire us to want to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur love for this community has only grown over the years,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have no interest in stopping and hope that we can inspire other businesses as we were once inspired to pitch in more and make this community a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event has, looking back over its first decade, \u201cevolved to be more impactful and entertaining, pushing the envelope on choreography, and what these performances could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think this event reminds us that when we band together as a community and support one another, we recognize the love and kindness we can all tap into \u2013 a small reminder of our own humanity,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes you need to lead by example and we know our efforts are seen by the community, and like a ripple effect, we see our enthusiasm being mirrored in other events and organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Stacey, some of her favourite memories of the first ten years are of the rehearsals before the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a moment when we are teaching the choreography when the stars realize what they\u2019ve gotten themselves into, and the brief moment of, \u2018Uh-oh, can I even do this?\u2019 The fuel is knowing that they can, of course! Watching them develop confidence and the skills they never knew they had has to be one of the most rewarding things I\u2019ve been privileged to with being a witness to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Trutneva cites the moments just before the show itself as being particularly fun to look back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll the hard work is done, the fundraising pushed to the maximum and all that\u2019s left is to go out and give it your all,\u201d she says. \u201cThe camaraderie and team energy built in that moment always means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Derry: \u201cWhat stands out the most to me are the people. I\u2019ve made great friends and met incredible people that lead this community into a brighter future. I\u2019ve met kids that have benefited from Easter Seals and grown into incredible people. Getting to know the people that Easter Seals helps is the biggest thing that fuels me. They are intelligent, driven adults who got the chance to grow and reach their potential because of Easter Seals. That is a really special thing and a really great cause.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As this year\u2019s milestone approaches, they hope fundraising efforts this year can help them go well over the threshold of $1 million over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local celebrities set to take the floor this year on October 9 at the Royal Venetian Mansion include Tracy Smith of Kitchen Table CEOs, restaurateur Martin McQueen, Phil Rose of the Town of Aurora, lawyer Jay Willmot, entrepreneur Shabi Monzavi, Aurora Black Community Association founder Phiona Durrant, restaurant owner Samantha Buckley, and Easter Seals Ambassador Daniella Altieri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altieri\u2019s participation is a particular point of pride for the dance instructors as they see it as a true full-circle moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s everything,\u201d says Derry. \u201cIt\u2019s for Daniela who was given opportunities through Easter Seals that allowed her to show the world who she is. She\u2019s is smart, and funny, and driven, and can do anything she wants now \u2013 including dance, which is why it is so important for more of the kids that Easter Seals helps to see her out there, so that they can see themselves in her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is as full-circle as it comes,\u201d adds Stacey. \u201cWe are beyond proud of Daniela to be the first to ever do it and we hope it\u2019s the first of many more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s theme is A Night at the Silver Screen and the Artistica family and the collection of celebs are working on iconic numbers set to iconic movie music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe movies have given us some pretty iconic songs over the years!\u201d says Stacey. \u201cWe kicked off [picking the music] by sifting through soundtracks and doing a lot of research. Especially when it came to our opening number \u2013 we needed a song to tie it all together, kick off the show with big energy, and set the tone for the theme \u2013 I think we nailed it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trutneva notes that two of the celebrities she\u2019s paired with helped take out some of the guesswork and had their own movie music in mind \u2013 while all three promise some surprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is going to be a show to remember,\u201d says Derry. \u201cAll of the numbers are incredible. We have a few surprises up our sleeves that I just know are going to knock people\u2019s socks off. I won\u2019t say much more now, but people will want to be there!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on next week\u2019s Dancing with the Easter Seals Stars Aurora-Newmarket, including how to secure your tickets and support your favourite dancers, visit eastersealsdancing.org\/newmarket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After opening up their ballroom dance school on Industrial Parkway South, burgeoning business owners Anastasia Trutneva, Kelly Stacey, and Patrick Derry sought ways to become more involved in the Aurora community. What began as a way to help local community leaders strut their stuff on the dance floor while making a difference for charity, has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":36935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02-02.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9BI","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-16 21:15:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36936,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36934\/revisions\/36936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}