‘Dancing with the King’ combines ballroom dance with Elvis Presley

The event raises money to bring dance lessons to local schools

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – For the past eight weeks, pro dance instructor Sara Davis has choreographed a ballroom dance routine to the ’68 comeback special.

This dance routine combines three styles.

“For Heartbreak Hotel, we’re kind of doing a posey, west coast swing. Hound Dog, quick step, last one is a single time swing to All Shook up,” Davis said.

The event raises money to bring ballroom dance lessons to public school students, which Sara teaches.

“It starts exposing the kids to something they may not have access to otherwise,” she said.

For Dancing with the King, Sara said it’s important to pick a routine that fits the dancer’s personality and abilities.

“The goal when you are doing a celebrity dance is, one, we want to put on a good showpiece, and showcase any skills you may have. So, if we have a celebrity who can do a cartwheel, or jump split, we want to add that into it. Your skill is pretty steady on your feet. So, sometimes doing tricks we have to be careful with our guys. If you’re not stable on your own feet, it can be dangerous for us,” Davis said.

Sara enjoys Dancing with the King because it combines ballroom dance with Elvis’s hit songs.

“The best thing about this event is exposing more people to what we do because we have our celebrity dancers coming in, that typically brings in a lot of friends and family,” she said.

Dancing with the King also features competitions with amateur and professional dancers. It is organized by the Dance Studio of Tupelo and the Tupelo Elvis Fan Club is the presenting sponsor.

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