Dancing with the Palm Harbor Stars: Contestants Announced

Do you like the ABC show Dancing with the Stars? If so, you might want to check out the Palm Harbor version of the competition at the upcoming Palm Harbor Citrus Festival.

Palm Harbor celebrities will be pairing up with the talented instructors at Palm Harbor's Arthur Murray Dance Studio to compete in this year's Dancing with the Palm Harbor Stars.

"I truly think it will be the best year yet," said Lania Berger, owner of the Palm Harbor Arthur Murray Dance Studio.

Just like the TV show, members of the Palm Harbor community will also be able to vote for their favorite dancers.

Among this year's contestants is a Palm Harbor firefighter. Palm Harbor firefighters have won the competition the last three out of four years. 

"We are happy to once again participate in the Palm Harbor "Dancing with the Stars" with firefighter Josh Lovetere bringing forward some talent. We all look forward to watching him bring home the first place trophy and making us proud," said Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Chief James Angle.

Firefighter-paramedic, Scott Arntz and partner Candice Cunningham won last year's competition.

Here's a look at all of this year's Dancing with the Palm Harbor Stars contestants-

• Arthur Murray Dance Director David Schmidt will have two partners in the competion; Debbie Thomas, Director of Old Palm Harbor Main Street and Connie Stewart, Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board.
• Arthur Murray Dance Instructor Rio Rivera-Young will also have two partners in the competion; Kelli Snow, Marketing Director for Palm Harbor Chick-fil-A and Belinda Forstner, Pinellas County Tax Collector Agency Assistant Administrator.
• Arthur Murray Dance Instructor Candice Cunningham is pairing up with Jordan Myers, Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce Chairman-Elect.
• Arthur Murray Dance Instructor McKelette Dowers is paired with Palm Harbor Firefighter-Paramedic Josh Lovetere.

Dance fans will be happy to know that Palm Harbor's Arthur Murray Dance Studio will be flying in So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo from Los Angeles to perform a special Argentine Tango performance.

"I'm so excited about this," said Berger. "They really are the best tango dancers in the world."

Larici and Barrionuevo will perform during the Dancing with the Palm Harbor Stars Preliminary Competition on Thursday, April 4th. The top three finalists will be announced at the end of the preliminaries. They will go on to compete at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 7 at the Main Stage at the Citrus Festival in Historic Palm Harbor. Admission is free.

Tickets and votes may be purchased on the Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce website, or by calling the Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce at 727-784-4287.

The Palm Harbor Arthur Murray Dance Studio is located in the Fountains Plaza at 34930 U.S. Highway 19 and online.

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