Local First Coast Dancing with the Stars contestant prepares for competition Sept. 14

By Daniela Toporek

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            Beaches Fine Arts Series’ First Coast Dancing with the Stars competition and fundraiser is only two days away, but that isn’t stopping any contestant from continuing to raise money and awareness for the cause and for their chance to win. Social media influencer, travel blogger and CEO of the Hive Society, Amy West, is one of these contestants and she hopes that her hard work and White Party fundraiser will be enough to take her to the top.

            West has always dreamed of making it on TV, particularly on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. When her friend and business partner, Chris Thomas, invited her to be his dance partner for BFAS’ First Coast DWTS competition, she was more than thrilled.

            “I was already dancing with him for a social media collaboration promoting his ballroom studio,” West said. “Within a month or so, he said, ‘Hey, we have First Coast Dancing with the Stars coming up. Do you want to be a part of this?’ I was like ‘Wow, dreams really do come true.’ I was having a moment.”

             The moment was brief, but necessary to ignite the persistence for constant rehearsal. West feared that her height would get in the way of her dancing, but what really challenged her was the balance and coordination needed for the Bolero-style dance her and Thomas will perform.

             “Ballroom is counter intuitive,” West said regarding practice. “The movements you would expect to happen naturally, you intentionally have to do differently in order to hold a pose or create the momentum or motion for the dance. There’s been a major learning curve, but I love it. It doesn't feel like work to me. It’s fun.”

            But unlike ABC’s competition, FC DWTS isn’t just about the physical labor of consistent dance practices. It involves 50% talent, 50% promotion and marketing, as the judges also tally up how much money contestants can raise for the Beaches Fine Arts Series, a nonprofit that provides free concerts and free educational outreach programs in North Florida.

            You could have the best dance skills, but if you didn’t raise equal or enough money compared to someone that didn’t dance too well, they might win,” explained West.

            Thankfully, West knows her way around social media. With her travel blog, www.AmyWestTravel.com (named one of the top luxury travel bloggers to follow” by Trip Advisor’s FlipKey website), and her networking organization for content creators, The Hive Society, her online presence is well, blatantly present, and has helped her promote both the Beaches Fine Arts Series and her fundraiser for them, The Hive Society’s White Party that was held Aug. 26, at Jacksonville Beach’s Casa Marina.

            “Honestly, it went as well as you could hope it would go,” West recalled about the night, excited to look back on the fundraising event. “People said we totally transformed Casa Marina into something they’ve never seen before, which was great because that’s what we were trying to do. We had such a small budget for that. Our florist did a great job of envisioning a different look. I haven’t heard one person say anything negative.”

            Diamond Direct attended the event, raffling off two $1,000 pieces of jewelry to two lucky guests, while artist, Maggie Stevenson, painted live and auctioned off her work to help with the fundraiser.

            “It was exciting. With throwing the party and doing all the promotion for it, we generated 1 million impressions for them (Beaches Fine Arts Series). That’s a lot of people, a lot of eyeballs that were able to learn and become aware of their brand. I wish we could have raised more money, but we did raise $5,000 with the event.”

            The White Party featured a SaltAer fire performer and a decorative photo booth by Pompy’s Portraits. West’s DWTS dance partner is also a musician, and The Chris Thomas Band performed for guests throughout the evening — because being a professional dancer isn’t already impressive enough.

             “Chris is such an amazing performer and a ton of the people there were his followers,” West bragged about her partner. “A lot of people don’t know about his dancing, though. Monarch Ballroom is his studio He’s been in ballroom for over thirty years. He’s an amazing professional dancer and has competed all over the world.”

             So with Thomas’s professional grooves and West’s knowledge in the digital world, it’s safe to say these contestants have what it takes to take the 2019 Mirror Ball trophy this Saturday night.

             "I would encourage people to definitely vote for us and support a great cause,” West said. “Voting is open all the way until Sept. 14., the minimum is $5 and every little bit counts.”

Dancing With the Stars will be held at 7 p.m.,Saturday, Sept. 14, at 100 Festival Park Avenue in Jacksonville. 

For more information on Amy West and the Beaches Fine Art Series’ First Coast Dancing with the Stars, visit www.firstcoastdwts.org/amy-west.