DanceWorks with the Stars
Organization: DanceWorks
Role: Executive Director
Scope: Brand Identity & Logo Design, Creative Direction, Board Leadership, Event Planning & Execution, Public Relations
Media Coverage: CitrusTV, The NewsHouse, The Daily Orange
Metrics: 350 live audience members, 2,000+ livestream and watch party viewers, 650,000+ Instagram views, 43,000 accounts reached, 465% increase in profile activity, 20 student organizations participated
To celebrate DanceWorks’ 40th anniversary milestone, I created DanceWorks With the Stars, marking the first time in the organization's history that we hosted two major productions in a single academic year alongside our annual spring showcase.
Over five months of extensive planning, I led the overarching creative vision by building the brand guide, logo, and marketing assets from scratch, while directing our executive board in operational execution, campus PR, and event production. The show sold out in just 30 minutes and brought together 20 campus organizations.
The Idea
Danceworks with the Stars was born from a simple observation: non-dancer students loved coming to our shows and wanted in on the action. Capitalizing on the pop-culture surge of Dancing with the Stars among college students, I helped turn that enthusiasm into a flagship collaborative event. By pairing student dancers with campus leaders from other clubs, we created an inclusive, high-energy tradition that expanded our audience and served as a major fundraiser for our organization.
Partnerships
We maximized event visibility and revenue by securing sponsorships from favorite Syracuse staples and brands (The Standard, Everglow, Manny's, Yeti Cafe, College Town Bagels, Over the Cuse Deli) for custom raffle baskets. On the media side, we collaborated with Reel Talk Agency to produce spotlight videos for contestant pairs and worked with Citrus TV to live-stream the entire performance directly into Schine Student Center and our Youtube, for viewers outside of the University.
Graphics & Apparel
Inspired by the classic show, we created a custom Danceworks with the Stars logo for all event graphics and promotional materials. We also designed commemorative t-shirts listing every participant's name on the back, offering a fan-favorite merch item that doubled as a key fundraising stream.
Voting & Scoring
We created an interactive voting framework designed to turn audience enthusiasm into early event revenue:
Prior to show night, fans could support their favorite pairs by purchasing pre-show votes directly or unlocking votes through Chipotle fundraiser receipt submissions. During the show, live audience votes were blended with real-time judge panel scores (out of 10) from our executive board using a percentage-weighted formula. This balanced approach determined our top three trophy and cash-prize winners, while all participants were celebrated with personalized certificates and fun superlatives.