Written by Sarah Turner

The VSU theatre and dance departments will have the Student Union shining with stars as they host their biggest fundraising event of the year on Saturday, “Dancing with the Valdosta Stars.”

The event will be held in the Student Union grand ballroom from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Seats at the event cost $75 and include dinner. Event profits go towards scholarships for dance and theatre majors.

Along with watching the show, attendees will be able to enjoy food and drinks as well as try their own feet out on the dance floor.

The cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m., food will be served at 7 p.m. and the show will begin at 8:15 p.m. The audience will have opportunities to dance to the band until 11 p.m. once the show is over.

“Dancing with the Valdosta Stars” will be an upscale event and is black tie optional. The audience can expect to see extravagant outfits on the dancers as well.

There will be a shuttle bus to transport attendees from Oak Street parking deck to the Student Union.

Local stars will be paired with dancing experts and the teams will perform various ballroom dances. The teams will be competing to earn the most valued award, the Audience Choice Award.

Also, there will be humorous awards given to the teams who were not awarded the Audience Choice Award. There are no official judges, so performances will only be rated by the event attendees.

According to Eric Nielson, dance program director, event coordinators had to work in more seats to the already sold out show.

“We have a lot of important people from the community coming in, as well as from the state so hopefully they will donate money as well,” Nielson said.

Coordinators not only expect a large quantity of donations from event attendees, but also several quality donations.

The fundraiser will also bring back the stars from last year to perform the cha-cha.

“It is interesting to see everybody’s creative ability in the couple’s dances,” Nielson said. “Some people are a little more competitive than others, but the ultimate idea is for everyone to have fun.”

Nielson concluded that “Dancing with the Valdosta Stars” is definitely the biggest money maker for a one night event. It profited around $12,000 last year and is expected to bring in more money this year.