“Dancing with the Rider Stars” lets students shine

By Mallory Hoelzl

Rider students flooded the Bart Luedeke Center Theater to experience Rider Dance Ensemble’s personal take on the hit TV show, “Dancing with the Stars.” RDE’s rendition, called “Dancing With the Rider Stars,” was hosted on the evening of Nov. 9 and was packed with stellar performances from students of all majors. 

This is a rather new community event on campus, premiered last year by previous RDE President Ian Kent, a dance performance major, and Vice President Gianna Banacki, an elementary education major. The pair created this event from scratch in summer 2025 with the help of their adviser,  Jonathan “Comix” Barella. 

Performances are executed by “couples” consisting of a “pro” and a “star.” “Pros” are members of RDE who gain at least three service points, which can be obtained by assisting with club events. A “star” can be a student of any major who is not a member of the dance ensemble. “Stars” are nominated by the members of the club. 

The night ended with two couples receiving awards: either the “mirrorball” or the “fan favorite.” The mirrorball winners were decided based on a combination of judge scores and audience votes, and the “fan favorite” winner is based on which couple raised the most money for the club’s fall 2026 charity, the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey, during the event. 

 This year’s judges table consisted of Kent, Barella and Dance Professor Megan Mazerick.  

The event was run by current RDE President Zeno Rubach, a junior game and interactive media design major, and Vice President Laney Minko, a junior psychology major. This duo was not going in blind, as they both had significant roles in preparing the premiere of the event in the previous year. Minko was the community outreach chair on the executive board and part of the tech crew. Rubach also served on the board as treasurer and performed as a “pro.”

While paying respects to the original creators’ vision, Rubach and Minko put their own spin on the event with a change of location from the Cavalla Room to the BLC Theater, as well as adding a dance at intermission. 

The night began with a performance by the troupe, a group of dancers from the RDE that did not compete in the show. Rubach and Minko took to the stage to introduce the first couple of the night: Skylar Murphy and Dawid Turos, performing “Maria” by Justin Bieber. 

“Star” Dawid Turos is a junior marketing major, representing Rider Men’s Swimming and Diving team. “Pro” Skylar Murphy is a junior dance major.

Following the opening dance was “Star” Ramon Nunez, a senior game design major, and “Pro” Maddy Moore, a sophomore dance major, performing a hip hop piece to “You Should be Dancing” by the Bee Gees. 

Before the event, Nunez commented that, “I’ve never been in a piece with less than 8-10 people in it. It’s exciting slash a little crazy to be one other person alone on the stage.”.

Moore discussed her feelings, noting that the act of choreographing was not what made her nervous, but instead, the question of, “How do I cater it to my partner and make them shine the way that they deserve?” 

The highest score of round one was given to sophomore pair Amber Marquez, majoring in marketing, and Chase Knutson, majoring in accounting and representing Rider’s Club Rock Climbing. They scored a 25 out of 30 with their hip-hop style performance of “DNA” by Kendrick Lamar. A major highlight of their piece was the implementation of a lift, as well as their overall energy during the song. 

The couple that followed was “Star” Julian Hernandez, a senior cyber security major who represented Theta Chi and Delta Phi Epsilon. Hernandez was accompanied by “Pro” Jules Wilson, a junior psychology major, where they performed “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble. 

The second highest score of round one, being a 23.5 out of 30, was given to “Star” Jenna Kirby, a junior exercise science major, and “Pro” Itai Serra, a senior dance major. Audiences were up on their feet during the couple’s high-energy, hip-hop performance to “C’mon” by Kesha. Both performers had accurate timing and Serra was able to capture the audience’s attention with multiple stunts. 

To close out round one was “star” and senior business administration major Dennis Golembiewski, representing Sigma Phi Epsilon and Rider Men’s Club Volleyball. Together, with his “Pro” partner Madyson Burkhart, a junior dance major, they performed a   hip-hop piece to “Treasure” by Bruno Mars. 

The troupe came together to shake things up during intermission, performing an electrifying dance to “Rush” by Troye Sivan, while the audience eagerly awaited the voting results of round one. 

The pressure was on between these three couples to see who would walk out as the night’s mirrorball winners: Turos and Murphy, Knutson and Marquez or Kirby and Serra. 

The final round started off strong with a thrilling performance by Turos and Murphy, who presented a hip-hop style piece to “Fancy Footwork” by Chromeo, ultimately receiving the first 10 of the night from Kent. 

Following their act saw the return of Knutson and Marquez, performing a hip-hop piece to “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5, which implemented, yet again, another lift, causing the audience to erupt in applause. This number received a 10, as well, from Barella. 

To conclude the night, Serra and Kirby’s stellar performance of a jazz-style dance to “Love on the Brain” by Rihanna, received a 29 out of 30, the highest score of the night. 

After the final votes were tallied, Serra and Kirby were crowned the night’s mirrorball winners. 

Hernandez and Wilson walked out of the night as the fan favorite couple, raising the most money for the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey.

Fresh after their big win of the night, Kirby remarked that, “It’s actually insane, I couldn’t be here without [Serra].”  

Serra followed that up with, “I was just gonna do this for fun. [Kirby] is great and we had a great time.”

Dancing With The Rider Stars will return for the 2027-28 school year.