Kyle Huff is a member of Dancing with the Stars. No, he won’t appear on the television show he enjoys watching with his mom, sister and stepfather. And he won’t compete against Hollywood celebrities.

He’s one of nine people set to perform in the Dancing with the Stars, Syracuse Edition competition.

Huff will compete against Syracuse locals, including business owners and a newscaster. In preparation for the event, he has learned a variety of dances through his ballroom classes.  

‘I’ve had a million of them,’ said Huff, a freshman marketing management major. ‘So now I’m learning the steps they are doing on TV, and it’s not easy.’

Paired with a local, professional dance instructor, he and the other contestants will showcase two dance routines — a swing and a freestyle dance — for the fourth annual Dancing with the Stars, Syracuse Edition event on April 9 at the Oncenter Complex. The event will donate all the proceeds to the ongoing restoration of an historic house museum, the Barnes-Hiscock Mansion, which has stood on James Street since 1853.

The youngest competitor in the event, Huff is also the first Syracuse University student to participate. Many, including Huff, are excited for the opportunity to get the university involved in the event.

For the competition, Arlene Stewart, chair for the event and fundraising chair for The George & Rebecca Barnes Foundation, said the event planning committee selected locals or students who participate in community action affairs or volunteer for nonprofits. They receive five months of free dance lessons from area professionals if they agree to fill a table at the event with friends and family.

‘This is how they repay the community for that gift and, in turn, support the important restoration of the Barnes-Hiscock Mansion,’ she said.

Four years ago for the event’s inaugural year, Huff sat at one of those tables to support his neighbor, who walked away as the event’s first winner. Due to his positive experiences from that night, Huff immediately agreed to take part in the competition when Stewart offered him the chance to perform.

‘I got a phone call asking if I wanted to do it,’ he said. ‘I didn’t have to think much about it, and I said, ‘Of course.”

His bosses, Angie and Mark Silva, for whom he has worked for three and a half years, gave Huff the opportunity to compete.

When asked to participate in the event, Silva declined because he felt he wouldn’t be able to dedicate much time to practicing. However, he wanted someone to fill his place and thought about who had the chance of winning.

Huff came to mind. He had factors that made him an ideal candidate, Silva said. Huff grew up in the same neighborhood the mansion is in, and he attends SU, an untapped resource the event committee wanted to involve. And Huff would give the competition his all.

‘If you know Kyle, you know that he gives everything 100 percent,’ he said.  

Silva suggested him to Stewart, who then talked to Huff personally. He and Stewart talked about his work at the country club and his past and present accomplishments.

‘She was like, ‘We would love to add somebody like you, who is younger, to what we’ve normally done and give it a shot,” Huff said.

Knowing he’d be the youngest competitor did not phase Huff, whose job at the country club involves constant interaction with adults. Since he was 14, Huff said he has never felt like a teenager, but rather an adult. He isn’t intimidated by his older rivals.

‘I’m used to it,’ he said. ‘I look at them as if I am their age. … I don’t feel awkward, I am competition, they are competition.’

Assigned his professional dance partner from Arthur Murray Dance Studio, Heather Diestl, Huff learned the basics in the middle of November. For four nights a week, Huff and Diestl practiced twice a night. While not every week was the same amount of hours, he said their sessions will increase as the competition is two weeks away and he still has 26 more hours left of lessons.

He smiled and said, ‘I’ve spent a lot of time in the Arthur Murray Dance Studio.’

Huff is also currently enrolled in a two-credit intermediate ballroom dance class at SU, which he said has allowed him to learn the proper steps and dancing methods.

Diestl, a dance instructor for Dancing with the Stars, Syracuse Edition since its first year, felt outside of her comfort zone when she was partnered with Huff. She had always danced with people who were a bit older. However, the Syracuse native was excited to have someone from the university be represented in this contest for the first time.

‘It was nice to work with somebody who was, No. 1, younger, because they could pick things up faster and remember a lot more,’ she said. ‘But to also have someone from Syracuse University was great.’

When they practiced, Huff first learned many dances, ranging from the tango to the cha cha. Diestl said Huff remembered choreography like no one she has ever taught before, and she appreciated his willingness to always try something different.

Although Huff went through some nights when he’d struggle with motivation, desiring sleep instead of attending practice, he has never wanted to quit.

‘I knew what I signed myself up for,’ he said. ‘I think if I didn’t have such a great partner, it wouldn’t nearly be as fun.’

Huff said he admires Diestl’s high energy and passion for dancing and her pupils. He said, even through their mistakes, they never frustrate or anger each other.

‘She pushes me to want to do better, and she does it in a sweet and kind way,’ he said.

Huff’s flexibility and exposure to new dances allowed him to figure out which type of dance he wanted to do for their freestyle. The competition requires each couple to learn a swing to Elvis Presley’s ‘Stuck on You,’ and then perform a freestyle dance along with a song of their choice. Although Huff was most comfortable with swing and rumba, he and Heather decided to do an intimate rumba.

‘She said to me, ‘You’re a rumba man. You perform the best at it, and you seem to like it the best,” Huff said.

They agreed to do their rumba to ‘Hurt’ by Christina Aguilera, which Huff described as a slightly provocative dance with intense motions. For Diestl, this piece exuded more emotion than the other comedic or intense dances she performed in the past. She said she wanted to try for something different to grab the audience’s attention. This song struck a cord with Diestl.

‘The song ‘Hurt’ has a lot of meaning for me,’ she said. ‘I don’t know if Kyle would agree with me, but both our fathers passed away, and the song is her singing about her father.’

Huff said that since mastering the basics, his newly learned skills have changed the way he critiques their performances.

And there was a lot to critique: every facial expression, where to place more weight or move his body, flaring a foot, not showing heel. Most importantly, Huff is focused on leading the dance.

‘It’s gotten hard, really, really hard,’ he said. ‘It’s more to think about than I would ever think I would think about dancing.’

Does Huff think he will win? No, but he doesn’t mind.

‘I could care less if I win or lose,’ he said. ‘I’m going to have a great time and show them my hard work.’

cbidwill@syr.edu

Published on March 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Colleen: cbidwill@syr.edu