Byers crowned ‘Dancing With The Gorge Stars’ champion

The event was emceed by Utah Ballroom Dance Company Production Manager Jesse Maher, and kicked off with a performance by The Dalles Dazzling Dancers, a group of eight local children who danced to “Can’t Stop The Feeling” by Justin Timberlake. The children in the group were Scarlett Blackwell, Molly Carter, Rafael Gonzalez, Halle Kennedy, Mason Morehouse, Riley Stocks, Allen Uhlenhoff and Drew Westfall.

Following the opening number, Maher introduced all six stars and their partners, then the three judges who would be scoring each of the star’s dances. (The judges also scored The Dalles Dazzling Dancers, giving them an honorary perfect score of all 10s.)

The night’s judges were personal trainer and writer/blogger Pamela Jensen, County Commissioner Scott Hege, and Cousins Country Inn Manager Annie Case, who has been a judge at the event all eight years it has gone on.

The first couple to dance were Copper West Real Estate Principal Broker Dennis Morgan and pro Annika Pounds, who performed the cha cha to “Sweet Like Cola” by Lou Bega. The routine received two eights, from judges Jensen and Case, and a seven from Hege, for a total of 23 points.

Next were Tria Bullard, program manager at Google, and partner Tim Gillespie. Bullard and Gillespie performed the nightclub two-step to “Breathe” by Faith Hill. They received eights from both Jensen and Case, and a nine from Hege, for a total of 25 points.

Third in the line-up was Last Stop Saloon owner Todd Carpenter and partner Bailey Steffen, dancing the Argentine tango to “Hernando’s Hideaway’’ by Archie Bleyer. They received a score of 21 points, getting a 7 from each judge.

Fourth was Aaron Carter, owner of Columbia Gorge Honda and Columbia Gorge Toyota, and partner Kylie Burns, who performed a swing dance to “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins. Carter and Burns received the highest score of the night from the judges, with 10s from Jensen and Case and a nine from Hege, for a total score of 29 points. Carter finished as the runner-up for this year, behind Byers.

The next pair was Erika Wilson, owner of Columbia Laser Skin, and partner John Meo, dancing the waltz to “Open Arms” by Journey. The dance was the second-highest scoring, with judges Jensen and Hege awarding 10s, and Case awarding an eight.

The last star to dance was Byers, dancing with pro Drew Innis. They danced the hustle to “It’s Raining Men,” by The Weather Girls, and received triple nines from the judges. However, Byers and Innis won the audience vote by enough that they were crowned this year’s champions.

In between the star dances and the announcement of the winner, the pro dancers from the Utah Ballroom Dance Company performed six different numbers of different styles, in a show emcee Maher called “Ballroom Fever.” Dances performed included a foxtrot to “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra, and a cha cha to “Circus” by Britney Spears.

Following the pro dances, Byers was announced the winner. Previous champion Mary Davis was also on-stage to help award the winner. Davis took home the mirror-ball trophy at the last DWTGS in January 2020, also with partner Innis, making him officially a two-time Gorge champion.

The event was a fundraiser for the Mid-Columbia Community Concert Association.