Q-C personalities to compete in ballroom contest

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By David Burke | Monday, June 9, 2008 4:21 PM CDT | () comments

Aviana Zahara’s dad won’t have an excuse for not taking her to the Festival of Trees Sugarplum Ball this year.

“She’s wanted me to do the Festival of Trees Sugarplum dance and I said, ‘No, let’s do something else,’ ” recalled the 7-year-old’s father, WQAD-TV morning meteorologist James Zahara. “The look on her face — oh, was she disappointed.”

So when the elder Zahara got an offer to compete in the fifth “Ballroom with the Quad-City Celebrities,” a local version of “Dancing With the Stars,” he asked his wife and daughter whether he should take part.

Aviana immediately told her dad that he should.

“Of course, because then you’ll be ready to take me to the Sugarplum dance,” Zahara recalled his daughter saying.

He is one of eight Quad-City area personalities competing in the contest a week from tonight at the Outing Club in Davenport.

The others are ophthalmologist Dr. Lisa Brothers Arbisser; Jesse Schmidt, a wide receiver for the Quad-City Steamwheelers arena football team; reporter Nava Ghalili of WHBF-TV (Channel 4); radio show host Melissa Martin of KQCS-FM (93.5); Davenport artist Raphael Iaccarino; Davenport firefighter Ryan Goettsch; and Kay Luna, a lifestyles reporter for the Quad-City Times.

All eight have gone through practices two to three times a week for the past several weeks to get ready for the competition.

Zahara will be dancing with Miss Scott County, Diana Rich of Bettendorf, who is also competing this weekend in the Miss Iowa pageant.

The 45-year-old Zahara said he was worried about dancing at first.

“I’m pretty much overwhelmed by the whole thing, to be honest with you,” he said. “I’m not a good dancer. I’ll be straightforward. I never really was a good dancer, even during my reception when I got married.”

He and Rich will be dancing the mambo, “something high-energy, because that’s just the kind of person I am,” and he had difficulty in the beginning.

“I had two left feet going on,” he said. “I said, ‘Give me some time, I really want to learn this.’ And in a few days I got the rhythm down.”

A 17-year veteran of WQAD (Channel 8), Zahara was already in shape — he’s run five marathons and participated in the Quad-City Times Bix 7 road race for 15 years — but he still found dancing a workout.

“It’s great. It beats the elliptical,” he said.

Zahara was the host of a local dance competition that preceded the first “Dancing With the Stars” tour stop at the i wireless Center in January 2007, and the meteorologist said he and his family were already fans of the ABC television series.

“I thought, ‘If these guys can do it, why can’t I?’ ” he said. “I love a challenge. I’ve done that throughout my time in the Quad-Cities.”

Davenport dance instructor Gianni Rondonni (who goes by only his first name professionally) coordinates the semi-annual event and said he tries to emulate the TV series in its variety of performers.

“I always try to recruit from all sides of the spectrum,” he added.

That includes an array of public figures and a variety of ages, which has been requested by past audiences.

“It just goes to prove my point that you don’t have to be a celebrity to dance like the stars on TV,” Rondonni said.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: “Ballroom with the Quad-City Celebrities”

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 22

Where: Outing Club, 2109 N. Brady St., Davenport

How much: $20

Information: (563) 570-5050