Oh, no, she didn't. Oh, yes, she did — girl's got attitude.
That would be Claire Cormier Thielke sashaying in a bootylicious sequined, two-piece, miniscule number with fishnets and sparkly silver pumps that revealed her legs of steel as she moved to embrace her dance partner, Houston Ballet demi soloist Charles-Louis Yoshiyama, to the tune of Beyoncé's "Baby Boy." When Thielke was flung airborne to execute gravity-defying moves, the crowd went wild.
What an opening sequence for "Dancing with the Houston Stars" Thursday evening. The party house of John and Becca Cason Thrash was the scene once again for the soiree that has raised more than $500,000 over the years for the Houston Ballet.
Except they couldn't be there. Becca, the mastermind behind the event, was in Paris, under the weather and unable to fly to Houston as planned, and John was in Asia on business.
Thankfully KPRC's Dominique Sachse, who was a contestant in the 2011 localebrity dance feud, graciously stepped in to fulfill the role of ringmaster and keep everything in sync — in perfect sync — just like Tootsies store director Fady Armanious and teammate Rosemary Ruths.
We aren't sure where Armanious' Latin sass came from, though we are guessing he summoned his inner Ricky Martin to shake his bon bon in a peppy mambo.
We aren't sure where Armanious' Latin sass came from, though we are guessing he summoned his inner Ricky Martin to shake his bon bon and to show off quite the fancy footwork in a peppy mambo. Rumor has it this pair rehearsed everyday for three weeks in the backroom of the high fashion retailer.
The hard work paid off. Armanious earned the coveted people's choice award and a memento signed by all the ballerinas and cavaliers of the Houston Ballet.
Jay Jones with partner Dawn Scannell beamed with the joyful energy of the 1940s for their jitterbug to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Many couldn't help but sing along to an 1980s club remix of "Don't Cry for me Argentina" during Jo Furr's gangster-esque cha-cha-cha with first soloist Nic Leschke. And Frank Billingsly's weather-inspired routine with former principal Krissy Richmond was delightful mischief speckled with flirtatious humor.
Applause, applause, to all these fearless movers and shakers, whose preparations served as a reminder of what it takes for dance professionals to condition their bodies for performance.
Also earning accolades for their delectable contributions were restaurants La Fisheria, Up, Étoile Cuisine et Bar and Américas, with wine courtesy of The Tasting Room and Max's Wine Dive plus endless Moët & Chandon bubbles.
Busting a move of a different kind were Elizabeth and Gary Petersen, whose live auction bid of $15,000 won a New York Fashion Week package including a Naeem Khan gown, accommodations and entertainment. Khan, wife Ranjana and son Zaheen flew in from New York for the party and a personal appearance at Tootsies on Friday.
In stylish attire were Melva and Ted Barr, Jim Furr, Nick Florescu, Louis Skidmore Jr., Christiane and Kristopher Stuart, Yvonne and Rufus Cormier, Angelica Ximenes Chapman, Karina Barbieri, Henry Richardson and Monsour Taghdisi, Kendra Rohrer, Bob Devlin, Mark Sullivan and Jason Reeves, Diane Lokey Farb, Mickey Rosmarin, Divya Brown, Rick Thielke, Kristy Bradshaw, Lucinda and Javier Loya, Michael Cordúa and David Cordúa and Sylia Gallegos.
Kevin Gilliard, left, and Frank Billingsley
