Jay DiPietro struts his stuff on the dance floor with
Pam Casanave, co-owner of the Fred Astaire Dance
Studio of Boca Raton.
Here are more photos from the competition
By Thom Smith
A community the size of Boca West couldn’t get by without a ballroom, but if club manager Jay DiPietro is on the dance floor, he’s probably scurrying somewhere. Not much time for dancing.
Still, when summoned to compete in the Fourth Annual Boca’s Ballroom Battle to benefit the George Snow Scholarship Fund, Jay was on his toes.
Before an SRO crowd of 763 including 14 tables of supporters at the Boca Raton Resort & Club Aug. 19, Jay’s cabaret quick-step was judged best among the four male dancers. The $36,000 he raised was tops, too!
When tapped as a contestant earlier in the year, veteran community activist Pat Thomas declared she was “in it to win it.” Well, her cha cha wasn’t the best dance — that honor went to rhumba-ing financial manager and Junior League President Jackie Reeves — but the $49,000 she raised was tops over-all.
As usual, the judges were assisted by a real pro — from TV’s Dancing With the Stars. This year it was the glamorous Chelsie Hightower.
The event raised a record $211,000 for the fund. Entering its 30th year, it has awarded nearly $5 million in college scholarships to 1,236 students.
A few weeks earlier, another standing-room-only crowd packed Mizner Park Amphitheater. The occasion was the first-ever tour concert for Selena Gomez, the hottest topic in female popdom. Rising to the elevated stage by hydraulic lift, the just-turned-19 Gomez opened with A Year Without Rain. Late she sang a medley by another pop princess who made a similar tour debut in June 1999 at Pompano Beach Amphitheater — Britney Spears.
Gomez appeared to have borrowed some costuming ideas from Spears, too. She opened in a Bob Mackie-ish Vegas showgirl costume that would have made Cher proud and later switched to a shredded fabric skirt and overly-padded, sequined bra. Her voice was strong but she seemed nervous and not yet at home with the choreography required of a full-bore tour. In a word, she was stiff.
In one nice touch, Gomez’s pre-concert sound check was open and lots of lucky fans were able to watch at the edge of the stage as she rehearsed in gray backless T-shirt and cutoff jeans. She even shared the mic with them.
Oh yeah, and backstage through all this … boyfriend Justin Bieber and his bud, singer Sean Kingston. They show up in some of the online videos, which include a nice pre-show, hand-holding pep talk by Gomez. However, no one connected with the tour or the amphitheater would confirm Internet reports that Bieber “narrowly missing being trampled by a crowd of screaming teenage girls” who forced him to rush him backstage and to flee to a waiting car.
Next up at the amphitheater on Sept. 10, catch Chick Corea with Return to Forever. Rejoining keyboard wiz Corea are original RTF members Lenny White on drums and Stanley Clarke on bass, plus violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and guitarist Frank Gambale. Opening the show is Dweezil Zappa’s Grammy-winning Zappa Plays Zappa, a celebration of his father’s music.
Heading west, season tickets at a 25 percent discount are going fast for the “Live at Lynn” series at Lynn University’s Wold Performing Arts Center, which opens Oct. 15 and 16 with Clint Holmes, and follows Nov. 12 and 13 with The Capitol Steps.
Also on the bill this season are Bravo Amici, Jan. 21 and 22. Five Guys Named Joe, Feb. 11 and 12, Jack Jones, Feb. 25 and 26, Florida Grand Opera Young Artists, March 17 and 18, The Beatlemaniacs, March 31 and April 1 and David Osborne, April 10. (www.lynntix.com).
At the other end of Mizner Park, the long-vacant second floor of the building formerly occupied by the International Museum of Cartoon Art is taking a dramatic turn times two.
Revived as the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center, the fully equipped studio theater will be occupied by two groups: Caldwell 2@Mizner, a spinoff of Caldwell Theatre Co., and Parade Productions, a new venture headed by Kim St. Leon.
Caldwell 2 held a reception and preview Aug. 19; now it’s up to artistic coordinator Kenneth Kay to assemble a lineup. (www.caldwelltheatre.com).
Parade, on the other hand, will debut Jan. 26 with local vet Avi Hoffman in Donald Margulies’ Brooklyn Boy for a two-week run. (www.paradeproductions.org)
Yaacov Heller’s statue of the Count and Countess
de Hoernle stands at Royal Palm Place. Photo provided
If you’ve strolled around Royal Palm Place lately, you couldn’t miss the life-sized statue of Boca Raton’s philanthropists Count and Countess de Hoernle outside Yaacov Heller’s Gallery 22. The statue, created by Heller, has been there since June, but at 3 p.m. on Sept. 24 it will be formally dedicated at Mizner Park Amphitheater to mark Countess Henrietta de Hoernle’s 99th birthday. (Count Adolph de Hoernle died in 1998). The artwork will remain at the amphiteatre next to the stage.
The granite foundation will be engraved with names of all the buildings the couple financed over the years.
Boca restaurants will be busy this month with special promotions — “Dine Around the World” in east Boca and Tastemakers in Mizner Park.
For the entire month, 21 restaurants in east Boca from Gary Woo’s (3400 N. Federal Highway) to Rocksteady Jamaican Café (1179 S. Federal) are offering special prix fixe meals. The tabs range from $7.99 for a three-course lunch at Boca Skewers to $49 for a three-course chef’s tasting at Chops Lobster Bar. For a full list, call 392-8920
The third annual Tastemakers of Boca, Sept. 13 and 14, will feature progressive tastings and cocktails at 11 Mizner Park restaurants. A VIP ticket ($30) is good for one sampling plate and one drink at each spot, including Max’s Grille, Racks, Uncle Julio’s, The Dubliner and Mizner’s newest, Kapow! Noodle Bar. Ticket holders also can take advantage of Tastemaker specials at each restaurant through Oct. 31. For more info, go to www.ggp.com.
Unfortunately, business didn’t go and better the second time around for Old Town Tavern. Located a block north of Palmetto Park Road on Dixie, the former steakhouse was revived last spring as a family-friendly sports bar. In a move unusual in South Florida’s whacky restaurant market, the management had the decency to send out an email announcing it would close Aug. 3.
Chris Evert thought she was going to have old rival Steffi Graf on the court with her in November at the 2011 Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic in Delray Beach. Not to worry, she’s lined up plenty of other stars.
Thus far the list includes a healthy list of TV and film stars including Elisabeth Shue (Oscar nominee for Leaving Las Vegas), Christian Slater (“Oz” in TV’s Breaking In), Scott Foley (Grey’s Anatomy, Cougar Town), Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) and NBC’s Hoda Kotb, who’ll no doubt grab some cuddle time with new boyfriend, Boca Raton attorney Jay Blumenkopf.
The 22nd annual event is set for Nov. 11-13, with the celebrity gala on Nov. 12 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. More at www.chrisevert.org.
Taking civic duty to a new level. Office holders worthy of election should be able to take a few shots, but can they pour a decent one? On Sept. 21 the mayors of south county’s big three — Boynton’s Jose Rodriguez, Delray’s Woodie McDuffie and Boca’s Susan Whelchel — will test their skills as guest bartenders at Bru’s Room in Delray. The first “Mayors Throwdown for the Arts,” a benefit for Delray’s Plumosa School of the Arts, goes from 5 to 7 p.m.. Tips and a percentage of the take will go toward a bus to transport students for field trips and performances.
Band Boosters for Boca Raton High School’s Marching Band host a dinner, concert and auction Sept. 24 at the school. The event includes an evening of performances by the symphonic and jazz bands, as well as a pasta dinner. Tickets are $20.
At a recent practice Rachel Hornbeck on mellophone and Martin Gelwasser on baritone.
At a recent practice, Evan Stoltz plays bass guitar.
Photos by Jerry Lower
Thom Smith can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com.
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