North Haven's Melissa Daniele to be 'Dancing Under the Stars' Friday

Melissa Daniele, owner of Be Some Body Fitness and Pilates of North Haven is trading in her sneakers for ballroom shoes as a contestant in the 6th Annual “Dancing Under the Stars” event to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut.

The event takes place Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m. at the Omni Hotel in New Haven.

Daniele, a North Haven resident, was nominated to participate in the event by her friend Vanessa Pomarico, who was the team leader of another one of Daniele’s charity endeavors, the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides against Breast Cancer.”

Team Be Some Body was one of the top three selling teams for six consecutive years in the “Making Strides for Breast Cancer” fundraiser.

Daniele also met Larry Lazaroff, owner of Arnold’s Jeweler, who is involved in the Dancing Under the Stars fundraiser when he donated gift certificates for the John Liquori Football fundraiser to honor Liquori’s memory when his life was tragically taken away from a drunk driver. Daniele organized the event that raised scholarships for high school students who excel in sports and music.

Daniele is excited about taking her passion for giving back to the community and combining it with what figures to be a memorable night to benefit the Ronald McDonald House.

“Like the saying goes ‘there is no place like home’ and this is where the Ronald McDonald house gives a unique temporary home for families going through the most difficult time of their lives,” Daniele said. “The Ronald McDonald house is all about the children who face each day with courage while undergoing treatment for devastating illnesses. The RMHCT will continue providing over 2800 nights of lodging, meals and transportation to guests and Dancing Under the Stars is their significant fundraising event.”

Daniele said she is “thrilled and honored to have this wonderful opportunity of being a contestant in Dancing Under the Stars.”

“The experience of learning ballroom styles is much more challenging than I anticipated,” she said. “Every moment spent preparing for this rewarding performance inspires me to embrace the challenge with the goal of entertaining this special audience of generous hearts.”

Daniele’s journey began in December with the experience of participating in beginner ballroom classes at Dance in Rhythm in Branford.

Under the direction of co-owners Karen and Sue, Daniele learned different styles of ballroom with about 30 other students, including some of the other contestants in Dancing Under the Stars.

In January, Daniele started her private lessons with her partner, Alex Scott, who she said is “a phenomenal choreographer.”

“He raised the bar high for me knowing that I had ballet, tap and jazz background,” Daniele said. “I thought it would be an easy transition due to my prior training. No way!!! I really had to throw out all my prior dance training out the window and start from scratch in learning new techniques, rhythms, partnering, memorization of patterns and choreography not to mention dancing backwards in high heels!

“Alex is a perfectionist and sees potential in me. He is pushing me to beyond my fullest potential with an intricate gold level Cha Cha Cha. I always admired Dancing with the Stars and a personal goal of mine was to find the time to go to a local ballroom studio and learn it as a hobby. My wish is now granted!”

Daniele said her second dance is the fox trot, which “makes me feel like I am portraying Ginger Rogers with Fred Astaire.”

Daniele’s dance partner is Pat Funaro, who she said is patient and very talented, and they will have a total of three weeks of working together until show time.

“It is amazing to feel like I have two left feet to actual feel like wow, I am really showing some poise and grace dancing,” she said. “The Ronald McDonald House is offering the contestants to feel like celebrities with elegant costumes rented for us from a very exquisite ballroom costume rental company.”

Daniele said the crash course in ballroom dancing has been a learning experience.

“I thought I was in good shape because of my profession, but this form of physical fitness is so demanding with partnering, turns, flexibility as well as cardiovascular endurance,” she said. “I am using muscles I never thought I had. The two months of preparation is an enormous time commitment, hard work and dedication, but it is so rewarding to learn something brand new, perform it and benefit the lives of others.

“I have a wonderful support system of my loving husband Frank, my three children — Alessandra, Frankie and Elissabeth, as well as three tables of my family, friends and my Be Some Body family to cheer me on and support this wonderful cause. The best advice I can give myself is to feel the music, have fun and relax.”

Read more about Daniele’s ballroom experience on her blog here.

Tickets for the event are $100 per person. Black Tie optional. For more information about the event, contact Larry Lazaroff at Arnold’s Jewelers (203) 239- 4291 or email Cathy Bignolas – cbignolas@rmh-ct.org.

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