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Pros Do Their Part for
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| “I'm stepping all over her
toes!” County Board member Walter Tejada made the remark after a
run-through of the merengue he and partner Lucy Bown McCauley will
perform at the much-anticipated “Dancing With Arlington Stars”
competition, to be held Oct. 7 at the National Rural Electric
Cooperative (NRECA) conference center. Tejada may only have been being modest. This being the first of just three dance lessons before the competition, his professional dance partner had only positive things to say about the County Board member's abilities. “I wouldn't call him a student,” Bowen McCauley said during their Sept. 13 practice session at Studio Body Logic in Clarendon. “It's a collaboration. He's the one teaching me the merengue!” Because there is limited time to practice before the event, Bowen McCauley has taken a different teaching approach. Instead of working through the choreography with Tejada, she decided on all the steps and order of things. But she still managed to throw in challenging lifts and dips into the routine. A runner and soccer player, Tejada said he had never had a dance lesson before. But he smiled through the whole session, and appeared to execute the steps admirably. They toppled to the floor only once. “I'm lucky to be paired with Lucy,” Tejada said. “I was nervous coming in, but I've had a lot of fun.” And having a good time is a high priority for the duo at the competition. Both were hesitant to declare front-runner status, but winning definitely is on their agenda. “We'll see what happens,” Tejada said coyly, perhaps hoping to lull his competitors into a false sense of security. “It's a big shot to have fun.” Tejada is just one of the community leaders who have signed on for “Dancing With the Arlington Stars,” a fund-raiser for the Bonder & Amanda Johnson Community Development Corp. Other teams of professional dancers and civic leaders are: * Art Friedman dancing with Sharon Davis. * Bonnie Friedman dancing with Jim Pebley. * Cathy Taister dancing with Chris Zimmerman. * Azza Mounib dancing with Al Eisenberg. * Sam Fadullon dancing with Becky Halbe. * Tamara Brown dancing with John Antonelli. * Ebony Day, Jamel Garner and Christal Lawson dancing with Rev. Leonard Hamlin. * Bobby Sidney dancing with Mary Hynes. All will be judged by a panel that includes former School Board members Margaret Lampe and Eleanor Monroe and Sun Gazette editor Scott McCaffrey. Elliott Francis of WJLA-TV (Channel 7) will be master of ceremonies. Funds raised from the competition will support efforts to provide new housing and social services in the Nauck community. Tickets are $60, and the event is black-tie-optional. For ticket inform, call (703) 521-1078. |
 County Board member Walter Tejada and professional dancer Lucy Bowen McCauley will perform at the much-anticipated “Dancing With Arlington Stars” competition on Oct. 7. (Photo by Emily Samaha) |