Annual Event Features Music Of Elvis Presley And Ballroom Dancing

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Hundreds are expected at an annual event combining the music of Elvis Presley, with ballroom dancing. WCBI’s Allie Martin gives a first person account of his third year as a performer in “Dancing with the King. ”

My dance this year is set to the song “Come On Everybody” from the movie Viva Las Vegas.

“We’re doing a combination of swing and salsa.” said Choreographer, Melissa Halbert, who  has the task of turning ordinary people into performers.  Halbert says each routine has its own set of challenges.

“Making sure that everything is done in time, trying to also teach you the technique for things, some technique, depending on the dance is easier said than done, for example you got a lot of rock steps between swing and salsa, which is literally shifting weight back and forth,” Halbert said.

The event features amateurs, all dancing to the music of Elvis Presley.  The Tupelo Elvis Presley Fan Club uses proceeds from the weekend to provide scholarships to young dancers.  Halbert says a lot of hard work goes into the gala, but she knows it exposes a new age group to ballroom dancing, and the music of the original American Idol.

“This is a great way to open up the opportunities for the kids, it’s personally helped me as well, before I listened to an Elvis song on occasion, now I’ve become really engulfed in Elvis and all of the music he’s done and it’s definitely opened up some awareness big time. which is what we want to do for the youth,” she said.

‘Dancing with the King ” runs Friday through Sunday.

WCBI is a sponsor of “Dancing with the King”  For more information go to dancingwiththeking.com