Members of the Queensboro Dance Festival perform near the Queensboro Bridge. Photo courtesy of the Queensboro Dance Festival

26 August 2024 By Shane O’Brien

The Queensboro Dance Festival will hold its annual “Dancing with the Queens Stars” event early next month, featuring a number of Queens leaders and locals as judges and contestants.

The Community Dance Competition, an annual fundraiser for the Queensboro Dance Festival, will take place on Monday, September 9, between 6 and 9 p.m. in the Nebula Lobby of the Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The competition features four teams of two, with a professional dancer paired with a local “star” for a 90-second duet.

Each team performs a specific style of dance, including Team Jazz, Team Soca, Team Salsa and Team Folklórico, while the Queensboro Dance Festival dancers on each team come from dance companies that have toured with the festival throughout the summer.

The team with the highest score from a three-person jury consisting of Queens Deputy Borough President Ebony Young, local politician and cultural producer Gonzalo Casals and Dynasty Breaking NYC co-founder Stephen “Rampage” Difede will be crowned the winner on the evening.

However, viewers can also influence the final outcome by voting or by participating in the Audience Shout-Out section, which allows viewers to comment and cheer for their favorite team.

Ticket holders will also be treated to dinner and drinks from local Queens establishments, as well as a youth showbreaking battle from Astoria-based breakdancing school Dynasty Breaking NYC. There will also be a raffle on the night, with grand prizes including a Queens “staycation” package.

Tickets to the event are $100, and all proceeds from the gala benefit the many free dance events, classes and professional development workshops that the Queensboro Dance Festival hosts each summer.

Karesia Batan, founding executive director of the Queensboro Dance Festival, said in a statement that the event is different from most other gala events.

“It’s not a typical gala, but it’s a lot of fun and engaging the Queens community in this way is consistent with our organization’s values ​​of holistic community building through dance,” Batan said.

Courtney Heyward, a community development specialist at Resorts World NYC who is participating in the event as a community star on Team Jazz, said she is excited to be part of the upcoming gala.

“Since I was a young girl, I have dreamed of dancing in the spotlight. I am inspired by the Queensboro Dance Festival and its work in embracing and celebrating different dance styles, and I can’t wait to try something new,” said Heyward.

The competition features Team Soca, featuring Darren of the Jamaica-based carNYval Dancers and Danesia, Digital Brand Specialist at Koeppel Hyundai; Team Jazz, featuring Heyward and Jamie of the Drye/Marinaro Dance Company of Forest Hills; Team Salsa, featuring Kallie of the LIC’s Cucala Dance Company and Joanne, a speech therapist at LIJ Forest Hills Northwell Health; and Team Folklórico, featuring Jasmin of the LIC’s Manhatitlan Mexican Folkloric Group and Lauren, community intern at YELP Queens.

Tickets for the event are available here.

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