TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) - for more than two months now, Instructor Robbie Greenwood has been coaching Tracy Holton Garrett as she prepares for a big event.

"We're doing a Viennese waltz, it's a very high paced waltz, waltzes generally are a slow dance. it's a little faster," Greenwood said.


Tracy is one of nine contestants in the upcoming Dance Like The Stars extravaganza, it is the largest fundraiser for the Boys and Girls  Clubs of North Mississippi.

Last year, her husband, Dr. Charles Garrett, leader of the Wellspring Center for Professional Futures, was in the show.  Not long after  that, the Garretts took up ballroom dancing and when organizers asked  Tracy to be in this year's production, she jumped at the chance.

"It's a whole lot harder than it looks, I promise.  He's pushing me to  my limits on this one.  He's taken me far beyond what I've learned how  to do in the dance studio so far," Holton-Garrett said.

This routine was choreographed by Tracy's instructor who knows first  hand the impact the Boys and Girls Club can have on a child's life.

"I'm from Louisiana and I played basketball and baseball through the  Boys and Girls Club in my area, and my family didn't have a lot of  money and it was the only way for me to participate in those sports  and so it is nice to know I am helping out the exact same cause that  helped me when I was growing up," Greenwood said.

Tracy knows the long hours and hard work spent preparing for this competition will be appreciated by kids throughout the region.

"They really depend on these dollars that people donate towards this event to run all the facilities in all the outlying areas," she said.

Each contestant raises money, and of course funds are also raised  through ticket sales to the dance an dinner.  In all, organizers could  raise nearly $200,000 through the event.  They're hoping  for a sell out crowd Saturday evening at the Bancorpsouth arena.

For more information go to, www.TheDanceStudioTupelo.com
or www.bgcnms.org