With the encouragement of his wife Janelle, friends, and a professional colleague, Mountain Top attorney Chris Opiel is one of 10 celebrities who will participate in the sixth annual Dancing Stars of Wilkes-Barre competition to be held Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at the F.M. Kirby Center.
The fundraiser will benefit KISS Theater, an inclusive and nonprofit, educational theatre program for ages 4 through 12th grade.
Participating in the Dancing Stars of Wilkes-Barre event certainly wasn’t something Opiel’s “bucket list.” He’s never been much of a dancer and doesn’t consider himself a celebrity. His involvement came about through the encouragement of attorney George Baron, a member of the KISS Theater executive board, and Jessica Baab, a friend of him and his wife Janelle.
Baron, Opiel explained, has office space in the same Wilkes-Barre building where Opiel’s law practice is located. “George asked me over last couple of years ago if I would be interested in dancing when they were looking for people to dance in the event,” Opiel related. “I never danced, so I kind of pushed it off.”
Besides Baron, Opiel related, Jessica Baab, a friend of his and his wife, has also asked in the past if he would be interested in participating in the competition.
This year, when approached again about dancing in the event, and with the encouragement of Janelle, he agreed to participate.
Since the names of celebrities and their dance partners were published on Dancing Stars of Wilkes-Barre’s Facebook page, Opiel said he’s received a lot of support from friends.
“I think I’ve had every one of my friends reach out to me,” he said. “I guess I’m a little nervous now that I might embarrass myself in front of everybody I know.
“But I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a good experience.”
Opiel was paired with professional dancer and Mountain Top native Alexa Martino. Opiel met with Martino for the first time at an event at KISS Theater where the celebrities and their professional partners were revealed. “She’s really nice,” the attorney said of his partner.
Shortly after the partners were announced, Opiel and Martino had their first practice at 10X Fitness in Mountain Top. Dan Cronauer, owner of 10X Fitness, offered the space for the team to practice. “Alexa just showed me some basic dance footwork,” he noted. The team hasn’t decided on which style of dance they will perform on the Kirby Center stage on Feb. 17.
“She suggested some different dance styles and gave me a couple options,” he said. “We’ll make a decision after a couple practices. I’m a quick learner.”
Although he’s never been a dancer, one thing he has going for him is Opiel’s love of sports and the outdoors. Throughout his life he’s played many sports, including football and rugby. He’s a hunter, and fisherman, loves hiking and four-wheeling. He and his wife, Janelle, also enjoy traveling.
Martino, his professional partner, has been dancing since the young age of three. She has performed in countless musical theater productions at many of the local community theaters. She is a registered nurse in the CVICU at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. She is working toward her doctoral degree in Nurse Anesthesia at The University of Scranton. She is also a spin instructor at The Fitness Place in Mountain Top.
There are two prizes to win in the competition; the People’s Choice mirror ball trophy and the Judge’s Choice mirror ball trophy. The People’s Choice trophy is awarded to the dancing team that receives the most public votes. Each dollar donated equals one vote. Voting is open until 15 minutes after the last dance on Feb. 17 then the People’s Choice Mirror Ball Trophy winner will be announced.
The Judge’s Choice trophy is awarded based upon the judges’ scores on the night of the event. The judges will be a panel of local dignitaries, and they will each have golden paddles to give a score (1 to 10) for each dancing team. The scores will be tallied and the winning couple will be awarded their trophy at the end of the show.
