TRAVERSE CITY -- Brenda Biederman got to dance. Kat Brown got lifted. And Miriam Pico got pregnant.
No matter who comes out on top at Wednesday's SwingShift and the Stars finale, all 12 dancers -- and the charities they're raising money for -- will come out winners.
"It's above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined," said Judy Harrison, organizer of the "Dancing with the Stars"-like dance-off that has raised nearly $25,000 so far for local charities.
The five-month-long competition that pairs local celebrities with local dance instructors ends Wednesday with a special New Year's Eve event at Leelanau Sands Casino. It features champagne and hors d'oeuvres, a midnight toast with hats and noisemakers, dancing with Harrison's band Swing Shift and, of course, THE big event: group and individual dances by the six couples vying for Traverse City's version of the mirror ball-trophy.
After the first four events, Miriam Pico and Jody Brown are tied for first place with Bill Marsh Jr. and Jennifer Howard. But all that could change when the audience's cumulative score -- kept secret until now -- is combined with the judges' total score.
With so much hanging on the line, the New Year's Eve finale is expected to produce more backstage jitters than all the previous events.
"I'm a total wreck all the time," said community philanthropist Brenda Biederman, whose Dec. 5 rumba with professional dance partner Tom Morrell earned an 8 "with a little sizzle" from guest judge Mike Casuscelli. "We all compete for who wants it to end the most. And I think I win the prize."
Win or lose, Biederman said she's already a champion to her 86-year-old mother, who watches from the audience.
"She didn't even let me go to the prom," said Biederman, whose conservative upbringing didn't allow dancing. "But she's proud of me now."
Professional movement specialist Kat Brown is keeping the competition in perspective.
"The competitiveness in me ... I want to be on top," Brown said. "But you have to remember we're non-dancers and we're doing it for charity." Win or no win, the 5-foot-111/2-inch competitor said she has already fulfilled a lifelong dream.
"I'm finally being lifted," she said before her Dec. 5 dance with amateur partner Lou Grettenberger. "I've always been the tall, big girl."
Nicole Marsh has missed only one of dad Bill Marsh Jr.'s performances -- and that was to dance the leading role in her own production. Still, the 13-year-old said it's harder to watch her father on stage than to perform herself.
"I get nervous for him because I know he gets nervous," she said. "I just tell him to relax and not worry so much."
Whether because of that advice or his own legendary drive, Marsh and partner Jennifer Howard have earned the competition's only perfect score so far, for their Dec. 5 West Coast Swing.
"It was awesome," said Marsh, who elected to learn a new dance for Wednesday's finale rather than bring back one of his favorite routines. "We started out at the bottom of the barrel."
While his cheering section has become one of the biggest and most enthusiastic, Marsh is hardly a shoo-in for the trophy.
"I voted for three different people last time," said Shirley Reams, who has attended two of the events with her friend Chris Allore. "It'll be based on what I like. I have no particular favorites."
Reams said she came to the December event to take advantage of the free dance lessons offered between performances, after being inspired by the competition.
"I watch them dancing, and I go, 'I want to do that,'" she said.
The contest "buzz" comes as a pleasant surprise to Harrison, who's already planning next year's dance-off for charity. But she said the real surprise is the improvement the dancers have made over the months -- despite injuries, illnesses and Pico's pregnancy, announced at the November event.
"They're committed, from everything down to rehearsal times and costumes," Harrison said. "They've got the fever."
So far Marsh's charity, House of Hope, has earned the most donations: $6,011.87. But Biederman's Traverse Health Clinic and Coalition is a close second, with $5,616.25.
It's an amount that has big implications for the patients who rely on the coalition for donated physician services, said THCC development director Sherri Fenton.
"To care for one patient for one month, it takes an average of $279 worth of donated services. It costs us $38 to administer that," Fenton said. "So for $456 we can provide services to somebody for the entire year."
For tickets or more information on Wednesday's finale, visit www.swingshiftandthestars.com.
