December 31, 2014

Couple #1: Sarah Pugh & Lee Goats

Hustle

Sarah was born in Prince George and has grown up to be a very artistic lady, full of energy with a wonderful, happy demeanour. She owns Dreamscape Studios which keeps her busy doing what she loves: namely photography, photo illustration, ad design, social media marketing, graphic and web design. Sarah loves all things creative including sculpture work, but when she gets a spare moment, she can usually be found taking her dogs for their exercise. When she is not busy at the studios or travelling, she is the host DJ at the Westwood Pub on trivia nights, also organizing fundraisers, various events and parties, but “Trivia is definitely my specialty,” she tells us. She has an interest and passion for holistic health and is a certified hypnotherapist which helps her with studies of the mind and consciousness. “Meeting and learning from the people behind Boogie with the Stars is such a good experience and very exciting,” she tells us. And why? Because she “loves, loves, loves dancing,” her experience being mostly with free style and having only recently branched out into partner dancing. Well now is the chance for Sarah to show us what she’s got!

Henry Lee Goats moves to Canada at the ripe old age of 15 and settled in Vanderhoof while going to school. Eventually he signed on with Prince George Fire Department, retiring from a distinguished career 30 short years later. He enjoys riding motorcycles and bicycles, flying and listening to all kinds of music, and that’s the connection to dancing. Music and dancing just simply seem to go together. He is looking forward to this year’s “Boogie with the Stars” event working with Sarah on the Hustle.

Couple #2: Marnie Hamagami & Liam Cooper

(Husband & Wife Couple)

Foxtrot

Marnie initially came to Prince George to take up the role of General Manager of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and more recently moved over to the Prince George Cougars where she is enjoying her new position as Director of Sales and Marketing. Marnie currently sits on the Board of Theatre North West as well as the Performing Arts Centre. She volunteers as a coach for JDC West at UNBC, and loves to help out with whatever project the Community Arts Council has on the go. Originally from Cranbrook, Marnie attended the University of Lethbridge and then the University of Teubingen in Germany, eventually moving to our city from Central Saanich on Vancouver Island with her husband Liam Cooper and their son Keith Cooper-Hamagami in 2012, and has loved every minute.

Liam Cooper was born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up in the Lower Mainland as well as Vancouver Island. He moved to Prince George with his family in 2012. Before attending the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, he worked in education and the non-profit sector. Liam will be called to the Bar in February 2015, after which he intends to continue practicing Law at Courtyard Lane. In his spare time, Liam enjoys gardening, cycling and cross country running, as well as volunteering with organizations such as the Prince George Pride Society. Liam has never participated in a dance competition before, but we are very happy to find out that he is ready to give it his best shot and help raise money to support health care in Northern BC!

Couple #3: Dr. Tracey Lotze & Dave Mothus

Tango Fusion

Tracey was born and raised in Cape Town South Africa and completed her Medical Degree at the University of Cape Town in 2005. “I spent my childhood and early teens representing South Africa as the national Kickboxing champion in my division for 5 years running, and all the time had a childhood dream to be a doctor and live in Canada.” Once she completed her medical degree she worked in communities in need until moving to Canada six and a half years ago. She “met her amazing wife Angela,” she tell us, “prior to moving to Canada and together we took the adventure I had always dreamed of.” Initially they lived in Fort St. James for three and a half years before moving to Prince George where they now have a beautiful 2-year-old daughter. Tracey currently works in the Emergency Department at UHNBC and is a co-owner of the Salveo Urgent Walk in Clinic. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her wife and daughter. “We enjoy relaxing at home and having a braai–that’s South African for BBQ.” She does not have any dance training or much experience with the exception of a social hip-hop class for a few months in her early twenties, so other than that, she will have to rely on her partner Dave.

Dave Mothus is a name you may have well have heard over the past 20 years at dance and social functions in our city. This is a result of being the owner of one of the largest DJ services of its kind in BC. His company, Entertainment Group, has been a past Chamber of Commerce award winner and nominee many times over and David won a top 40 under 40 winner in 2013. He has recently moved on to a career as a financial advisor for Sun Life, and using his connections from his entertainment past, he has quickly become one of the BC’s top ranked advisors. With a history for supporting charitable endeavours, David is also the Regional Director of the BCSPCA as well as working closely with the paedriatric ward at UHNBC and the various causes.

Couple #4: Dale Jarvis & Leslie Farella

Samba Fusion

Dale was born and raised in Prince George area, in the small community of Reid Lake northwest of the city. He attended the same one room school in Reid Lake his father did and graduated from Kelly road Secondary in 1992. After working with his dad for a couple of years, he attended CNC and obtained his Engineering and Graphic Design Diploma, and since has worked in the Engineering field as a Design Technologist. After a brief period in heavy equipment sales he moved on to IDL Projects Inc. where he has been a Project Manager for the last 6 years. Dale has a wonderful step daughter, Taylor, who is starting Grade 10 this year. In 2013 he took up road cycling and completed the Whistler Grand Fondo as well as the Tough Mudder this past June. After watching his colleague perform at Boogie with the Stars last year, Dale immediately volunteered for this year’s event and is extremely excited. He is looking forward to meeting the personal challenge it presents him and his hips!

Leslie came to Canada from Massachusetts in 1977. The family moved around various parts of British Columbia finally settling in Prince George. This has now been her home for the last thirty five years, during which time she has raised four children. She started dancing on and off socially in 2007 because she saw the physical and health benefits in social dancing. Her interest and passion in dancing has grown steadily ever since and she says now that she loves every minute of it. This is very obvious to her fellow dancers who have seen Leslie’s style and sway improve dramatically. Now Leslie is going to share that knowledge and experience with Dale.

Couple #5: Thomas Nowak & Janis Smith

Jive

Thomas is a 3rd year Commerce Student at UNBC and Captain of the UNBC JDC West Team. UNBC JDC West is a student group comprised of 50 of the most ambitious students at UNBC, who allot much of their time at the university to developing real-world skills, networking with the community and supporting the community through charity initiatives. He was born and raised in Prince George, and loves this northern city more than anywhere else, so what better way to demonstrate his ambitions than to dedicate some time to raising money for the Healthcare Foundation in our City on its 100th birthday.

Janis has been a resident of Northern BC for the past 5 years. She has several years of experience dancing ballroom and Latin dances socially and competitively and is excited to participate in the Boogie with the Stars event for the first time this year. She is a new member and instructor for Dance North in 2014 who is both passionate about dancing and dedicated to working hard to develop dance technique. Dancing is a great way to improve quality of life, fitness levels, mental health, and make social connections. She encourages anyone with an interest to try it out. When she is not working, Janis dedicates a great deal of time serving and volunteering at various agencies to give back to the community. This year she would like to support the Spirit of the North and is looking forward to dancing the Jive with her star Thomas Nowak.

Couple #6: Janet Holder & Zeki Basboyuk

Cha-Cha

Janet’s Prince George roots run deep. Like her mother, Mabel Nielsen (Holder), Janet was born an raised in the city where she lived through her senior year in high school. Janet’s passion for math and science took her to the University of New Brunswick where she earned on Engineering Degree. Never one to sit still for very long, soon Janet was back at university earning an MBA–a path that led her long career as a leader in the energy industry. But Prince George always called, and when Janet was offered the chance to come home and lead the Northern Gateway Pipeline project she and her husband Neal were on the first plane. It is here in PG where Janet can do what she loves most: hiking with her two dogs, spending time outdoors and being among friends. Though Janet has never had a dancing lesson in her life (except square dancing at Connaught Junior High), she was a former competitive weightlifter and is hoping that her training in posture and technique will help her dance way to a great routine. Janet is thrilled to be supporting “Spirit of the North” and participating in such a great community event like BWTS, and can’t wait for the competition to begin!

Zeki originally came to Canada from Turkey. Anybody knows Zeki would definitely agree that he is a fun loving guy that any woman would pick from a crowd, especially if she loves to party. He loves to sing and above all loves Elvis! He enjoys playing the guitar, dancing and several outdoor activities, particularly soccer. He joined Dance North in 2009–that’s when he seriously learned to dance and have more fun. He is proud to be one of the instructors for BWTS. For him it is an honour to be a part of this fundraising event. Zeki commented, “Boogie is the best thing that happened in PG- people get to do something different yet it is for a good cause! My Boogie partner & I, Janet Holder, are having fun. We wish our competitors all the best–good luck everyone! A big thanks to Peter & Paz for helping me learn to dance. Thank you to Dance North for giving the opportunity to be a part of the fun loving group of people who live to dance. It has changed my life.”

Couple #7: Todd Doherty & Paz Milburn

Tango Fusion

Todd has represented our region on the world stage at international conferences for the Tourism and Aviation Industries. Most recently part of the Team 2015. Todd helped build the 2015 Canada Winter Games Program and is proud of his former team’s success. Todd is married to Kelly and together they have 4 beautiful children aged 20 years to 26; Josh, Kassi, Jordan and Kaitlyn are the apples of their dad’s eye and is extremely proud of each one of them! Todd is currently seeking the nomination for the Prince George-Cariboo Riding for the Conservative Party of Canada, and with enthusiasm, energy and dedication demonstrated to BWTS, we have no doubt he will make a very worthy candidate.

Paz was born and raised in the Philippines with a love for music, and a passion for dance. She was heavily involved with the Prince George Filipino Club in early 80’s as event organizer and dance choreographer and was one of the original Hula & Tahitian dancers with the South Pacific Dancers. She has been a community volunteer since 1982. Her passion for dancing was revived in 2006 when she joined Dance North. She really enjoyed doing the Tango with John Rustad in 2010, had great fun with Tom Sentes and the Jive in 2011, fondly recalls the Salsa with Selen Alpay in 2012 and again performed the passionate Argentine Tango with Brad Bonner last year. This year’s event is full of fun and challenges and she is looking forward to competing to Tango Fusion with her Star partner Todd, who is “very focused and committed” she adds.