Safe Haven hits home run with new fundraising fête

Dazzling dancers

Published On: May 27, 2010

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Who knew? Really. Who in the world knew that amongst Nashville society and do-gooders that we have such skilled dancers in our midst? The folks at Safe Haven Family Shelter, that’s who. These clever cookies dreamt up one of the most fun parties we’ve ever attended—Dancing for Safe Haven. What a ball! Or ballroom dance, we should say.

After enjoying a lovely dinner at the Hutton Hotel, the sold-out crowd (not an easy task for a first-time event) settled in for what would be an awesome evening.

Professional ballroom dancer Danny Baye, comedic genius Julie Eskind, master of the dance Paul Vasterling and yours truly took to the judges’ seats and awaited the dancers. Here’s where it gets good.

Somehow, Safe Haven managed to cajole Ted Welch, Manuel, Jim Shulman, Heather Byrd, Mark Volman, Danielle Peck and Kelly Sutton into taking to the stage and shaking their tail feathers. Each dancer was partnered with a professional dancer from Studio 1406 or Dance World. Except Manuel. The crafty fellow had a posse of dancers performing for him before he joined them for a little dance move at the end of their performance.

On another note: To assume that Kelly Sutton of Fox TV’s Tennessee Mornings is an amateur dancer would be to assume wrong. The girl should move to L.A. and dance. She’s really good.

Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap and singer-songwriter Gary Chapman “controlled” the judges, serving as emcees. The competition categories were Online Favorite, Judges’ Favorite and Audience Favorite. Mark Volman, founding member of The Turtles and a Belmont professor, won Online Favorite; Kelly Sutton won both a standing ovation and Audience Favorite; and, Jim Shulman, Safe Haven’s board president and Deputy Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health, was the Judges’ Favorite.

While the evening was a blast, it’s the reason for the party that matters. The $88,000 raised will provide shelter and transitional services to homeless families with children. EN

—photographs by
sinclair kelly