WHEN Rob Croucher reached out offering help to The Ballarat Foundation, he had thought it would be in a professional partnership sense. Instead, Mr Croucher found himself waltzing into a dance partnership for the charity.
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Mr Croucher, who has since moved into a government role, is now deep in training for the second Ballarat Dancing with Our Stars gala event.
The experience is already proving far harder than the "one-two-three, one-two-three" waltz lesson he thought he was signing up for. An 'S' shape worn into Mr Croucher's back lawn is evidence of the repetition he has been putting into practising one of his more complicated moves.
The first dance at my wedding. There were three moves in that at we still got it wrong
- Rob Croucher, Dancing with Our Stars contestant
"I'd done absolutely nothing, in terms of dancing. The last time I probably went out dancing was fist-pumping in the university student union," Mr Croucher said.
"I did have the first dance at my wedding. There were three moves in that and we still got it wrong...otherwise it was a great wedding. It's definitely taking me out of my comfort zone."
Mr Croucher will partner with experienced Ballarat dancer Vanessa Powell for the dance-off. Rivals include Masterchef finalist Tim Bone and The Bachelorette winner Taite Radley and well-known Ballarat identities Paula Nicholson and The Courier journalist Rochelle Kirkham.
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Training is intense and Mr Croucher said his key focus at this stage was making sure his bottom was not poking out, keeping light on his feet and making sure he leads with his side under the tutelage of Shelley Ross, from The Dance Studio.
He said Ms Ross and Ms Powell's patience had been invaluable.
"My dancing is where it needs to be but by no means am I ready," he said. "I've improved a reasonable amount already. I thought I was going okay, and then we added music and the moves went really fast."
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The inaugural Dancing with our Stars last year raised more than $112,000 for The Ballarat Foundation's community impact programs that aim to help break the cycle of disadvantage.
Dancers are vying for the judges' choice title and highest fundraiser titles. Each couple will undertake a different dance and unite in a group dance in the March 20 spectacular.
To boost his dance efforts, Mr Croucher is hosting A Taste of Latino night of dancing to band Well Strung and great food and wine at Mitchell Harris Wine Bar on February 12. While the waltz is not a Latin dance, there might be a taste of Mr Croucher's dance progress in the mix.
A Taste of Latino tickets are at stickytickets.com.au. More stars details: dancing-with-our-stars.raisely.com.
