Swapping work boots for heels to waltz with the stars

DESIGNER at Oasis Building Group, Paige Gercovich, will take to the floor in tomorrow night’s Dancing With Our Stars gala for the Ballarat Foundation.

Among the competitors set to sparkle across the floor, Gercovich has spent months rehearsing and fundraising, learning the Viennese Waltz with dance partner Scott Cornwill.

It will be the culmination of countless hours of practice and perseverance that’s already seen many tens of thousands of dollars raised to support the local work of the charity in the areas of homelessness, food insecurity, mental health, gender inequality and violence, and youth success.

“The Viennese waltz is quite fast for a waltz and apparently it’s one of the most scandalous dances because it was the first dance in ballroom where physical contact was allowed,” Gercovich said.

“It’s a very elegant, very beautiful dance.”

Gercovich has been learning to perfect her assigned dance with expert instruction from Shelley Ross of The Dance Studio and plenty of encouragement from Cornwill.

Overcoming vertigo has been part of the challenge for Gercovich as the Viennese Waltz features rotational twirls.

“Its quite tricky with all the spins and twirls,” she said.

But this star has risen to the occasion, meeting and exceeding her $20,000 fundraising target in the process.

Through it all she has been motivated by a love of the city her family has long called home, and has been inspired by the community-minded spirit of her well-known grandfather Rex Hollioake.

“He passed away a couple years ago but he was a shire engineer and paved the way for some of Ballarat’s sporting facilities,” she said.

“He has been an influence in my life and his wife, my grandmother, Marion Hollioake is now 92 and she has always been an avid watcher of Dancing With The Stars. She will be in the crowd on the night.”

Gercovich’s parents will also be present when she puts the steps she’s been learning to the test.

Those keen to support their favourite star can get behind the cause with individual fundraising pages

accepting donations at ballaratfoundation.org.au