She never thought that she’d be picked. But when she was, she rose to the occasion. Tiffany Leeson, a fourth generation Steamboat Springs local, has been a proactive and deeply-rooted member of the community for decades – now, she will use her notoriety and connections to bring together diverse parts of the community to raise money and bring awareness to a cause greater than herself. 

Dancing with the Steamboat Stars is an event that rallies the community around the local nonprofit Northwest Rocky Mountain CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). CASAs are trained volunteers that advocate for youth who have been abused or neglected, assisting the judge in making the most informed decision based on the child’s best interest. 

Dancing with the Steamboat Stars is CASA’s largest fundraiser of the year. The “Stars” are local legends who get chosen by alumni participants of the program and spend weeks training for the show and fundraising within the community. On Saturday, April 11, they perform at Strings, creating a night of fun and community bonding.

When Tiffany found out she’d been chosen for Dancing with the Steamboat Stars, she thought she was signing up to learn a dance, maybe wear something sparkly, and step on stage for a good cause. She quickly discovered she had also signed up to become a fundraiser, a community ambassador and, somewhere along the way, a recognizable member of Steamboat’s larger dance community.

At the first meeting, organizers explained that as a “Star,” she would be responsible for fundraising. They mentioned spreadsheets, contact lists and social media contests. All great ideas – if you’re comfortable with social media. Tiffany was not. “I do not feel comfortable on social media,” she says. “So I decided to send out a very personal email. It took me four or five rough drafts to come up with the email I sent.”

Those drafts took time. She wanted the message to feel authentic, not like a generic request for donations. Because if there was one part of this experience that immediately pushed her outside her comfort zone, it was fundraising. “I feel very uncomfortable in the asking-for-money realm,” she says. “I think most people do, so I tried to make it much more about CASA, and the kids and reaching a goal. I tried to make my email funny, make it personal and explain why they should give to the kids.”

She sent the email to several groups from her life – friends, supporters and potential sponsors. Originally, she planned to wait until after the holidays, but she decided to send it before Christmas instead – and it worked. "As donations began coming in, something really shifted for me. The uncomfortable part didn’t necessarily go away, but the purpose became clearer,” she says. 

And then something else happened: once she started asking, it got easier. “There were people who I saw on the street and I would ask them to donate and almost everyone did,” she says. “So it was good to be out and about.”

While she was learning how to fundraise, she was also beginning the other part of the commitment: learning to dance. She had danced before, technically. She was on the drill team in high school and performed at halftime. “But that was 40 years ago!” she laughs. 

Tiffany was paired with Jessica LeBlanc as her choreographer, and the creative process began. Rather than simply being handed a routine, Tiffany found herself collaborating. “I talked with Jess about what gives me energy and she and I brainstormed to come up with three songs,” she says. Once they narrowed it down, the process became more official. “We asked the head choreographer of the event, Kim Bates, for the song we wanted and she approved it and then we chose our costume and started practicing.”

With the music selected, rehearsals began in earnest. “We started in January and have met weekly in February and March,” she says. “We mashed together three songs to create a 3 1/2 minute dance.” Like many parts of Dancing with the Steamboat Stars, rehearsals are also a community effort. “Dancers are required to find their own rehearsal space but a lot of places donate their space to the cause so it’s not too hard,” Tiffany says.

Somewhere between practicing choreography and refining transitions, Tiffany was also discovering another unexpected part of the experience: the dance community itself. She began running into other dancers everywhere.

“The most surprising thing is meeting so many people in the dance world,” she said. “I had no idea so many people were involved in that world.” It makes sense. Over the years, nearly 100 locals have participated in Dancing with the Steamboat Stars. It’s a large group, but also a small club, one that keeps growing as new dancers are chosen each year. In a town that continues to change, that kind of shared experience feels increasingly special.

As the event approaches, Tiffany finds herself reflecting on what she’s learned. If she had advice for next year’s dancers, it would be this: “I would say, ‘Ask everybody,’” she says. “I asked people in town, out of town, from the library, from Rotary, walking down the street, in the yoga community … CASA is more well known than you think.”

She also encourages future dancers to lean into what feels natural. “Have your plan and make that work for you,” she says. “If you're on social media, do that.  If you’re an email person, do that. Don’t get talked into something that you’re not comfortable with.”

Because what Tiffany has learned is that being chosen doesn’t end with one performance. This year she’s a Star. Next year she could be a judge. There’s an alumni dance she could join, and volunteer opportunities with CASA that are already on her radar.

Being chosen, it turns out, isn’t just about learning a dance. It’s about stepping into a community, supporting a cause, and discovering – somewhere between writing emails, talking to neighbors and laughing in yoga class – that you’ve become part of something bigger than you expected.

Buy tickets for the event on Saturday, April 11 at 2 and 7 p.m. here: https://strings.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0SUk000000TnF3MAK.