Dancing outside her comfort zone by ANNETTE JOYCE When it comes to stepping outside her comfort zone, Lacey Chavarria is pushing the limits to the extreme. While she readily admits she’s not a skilled dancer and shies away from being in the spotlight, Chavarria is a contestant in the 14th annual Dancing with the Carolina Stars, a ballroom dance competition taking place in February. The competition is a major fundraiser for Operation Smile Carolinas, a nonprofit that provides free cleft lip and palate repair surgeries to children worldwide. One of the largest medical volunteer-based nonprofits, the organization seeks to help those who could otherwise not afford these costly surgeries to better breathe, eat, speak and live lives of greater quality and confidence. Although reluctant, Chavarria became involved in the competition for a couple of reasons. For one, a friend who had participated and sits on the board of Operation Smile Carolinas had been urging her to enter for a few years. But more importantly, Chavarria is dancing in memory of her daughter,
Reyna, who was born in 1995 with a cleft palate and other serious medical issues and lived for only a day. As the mother of five children, chief nurse anesthetist at High Point Medical Center and a die-hard member of 336 CrossFit, where she works out daily, this energetic 42-year-old already has a full plate. Even so, Chavarria is putting in the hours needed to become a competent dancer. Rather than leaving the 10 contestants to choreograph their own dances, Operation Smile Carolinas has partnered with Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Greensboro, where each contestant is paired with a professional dance instructor and given six free dance lessons. It’s up to the individual dancers whether they want to purchase additional lessons. Since starting lessons in August, Chavarria has been fitting in one or two lessons a week in preparation for the February 12, 2022 competition. “I like to dance, and I have rhythm, but I don’t have any (ballroom) dance experience,” Chavarria said with an infectious laugh. “I don’t want to mess
Photo courtesy of Lacey Chavarria
Stokesdale resident Lacey Chavarria and her dance partner, AJ Tsygankov, will compete in the Dancing with the Carolina Stars ballroom dancing competition and fundraiser on Feb. 12, 2022.
up and be publicly humiliated, and I don’t want to disappoint my partner or make him look bad.” Chavarria’s dance partner, AJ Tsygankov, is from Russia. Although the couple has worked on 10 different dances, she and Tsygankov will perform only one dance for the competition. They haven’t yet decided on which dance
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