By Donovan Ortega
Photo: Joel P. Black
The George Snow Scholarship Fund will host a gala fundraiser, the third annual Boca’s Ballroom Battle, at the Boca Raton Resort and Club on August 20th. Established in
1982 in memorial to George Snow, the Fund has donated over 4.5 million dollars towards college scholarships for local scholars with financial need. The event will feature four women and four men from the community performing a specific type of ballroom dance with a professional dancer from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio. Each competitor is working with their dance partner in preparation for the “Dancing with the Stars” style competition, in which a male and female will be proclaimed winner.
Denise Ganz, a shareholder with the Ruden McClosky law firm, will be one of the eight competitors on August 20th. A friend who participated last year introduced her to the idea. Initially she thought fundraising would be the hardest part, but quickly realized ballroom dancing was an intricate skill.
“I love to dance,” said Ganz, “But learning the counting and the steps is very hard. I’m not a professional dancer. I’m a lawyer. But in the end I’m just trying to relax and have fun with it. The Fund is the most important thing.”
Last year over five hundred people attended the event and they expect the same number or more this year. All of the build up makes Ganz a little nervous to dance the cha-cha with her professional partner, Patrick Alonsagay.
“I’m going to be very nervous. Some people that did it last year thought they might be sick before they had to go on,” joked Ganz, “but Patrick has been very helpful teaching me and I’m just going to go out and dance.”
As part of a lead up for the Boca Ballroom Battles, Ganz and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dwight Stephenson are co-hosting a fundraiser at The Falcon House in Delray Beach Thursday, July 29th from 6 to 9 pm. All proceeds will go to the George Snow Scholarship Fund.
“If I have learned one thing from this experience, it’s that if you really believe in something, then forcing yourself outside of your comfort zone to help others will deliver positive results,” said Ganz.
For more information about the Fund and how you can attend the competition, visit www.scholarship.org, www.ballroombattle.com, or call 561-347-6799.