CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Dancing just makes you feel good.
That is how Wheelersburg, Ohio native Gail Schmidt described her love for dancing outside of Charleston Municipal Auditorium on Thursday night.
The auditorium was host to “Dancing with the Stars: Live! A Night to Remember,” a tour for the popular ABC show that attracted many dance fans to the capital city.
“I am a person who likes dancing so I like to watch all the different kinds of dancing,” Schmidt said.
The stop in Charleston is part of a nationwide tour during the winter that featured Season 27 dancers including Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Val Chmerkovskiy, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Sasha Farber, Alan Bersten, Jenna Johnson, Brandon Armstrong, and more.
“If it is the TV show, I always root for the athletes,” Schmidt said. “I enjoyed Emmitt Smith, he was good and he won. There have a few gymnasts and a few figure skaters that I have root for.”
Wheelersburg, Ohio native Crystal Conn was a guest with Schmidt as the two coach cheerleading together in Wheelersburg.
“We are cheerleading coaches and one of the cheerleaders got us this as a gift for Christmas,” Conn said. “Gail is more of a fan than I am, she is a diehard.”
While Conn and Schmidt were out as a Christmas gift, Charleston native Andrea Harvey was out for her birthday on Thursday.
“I am turning 25 today (Thursday),” she said. “I enjoy dancing. I like when they do the Salsa, the waltzing and the contemporary dances.”
Harvey said she was most looking forward to seeing a select few dancers.
“Witney Carson and Val, Artem and all of them are my favorites,” she said. “I like watching the celebrities come on and dance too.”
The show ranged from ballroom and jazz dancing to modern and hip-hop. It was choreographed and creative directed by Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mandy Moore and Dancing with the Stars Executive Producer Ashley Edens-Shaffer.