Celebrity Dancer Meeka Owens (Cincinnati City Councilwoman)
and Dance Pro Alyenendrov Tsorokean
Crowned New Dancing for the Stars Champs
Dr. Mona Foad Honored as Fundraising Champion
[CINCINNATI, OH] – Meeka Owens (Cincinnati City Councilwoman) and dance pro Alyenendrov Tsorokean (Phoenix Rising Ballroom) were crowned the champions of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s eighteenth annual Dancing for the Stars on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at the Music Hall Ballroom. The dance pair earned perfect scores of (10) from each of the three judges. Dr. Mona Foad (Founder & CEO, Mona Dermatology) took home the Fundraising Champion Award as the celebrity who raised the most money for the event through ticket sales and donations – more $17,000.
Alex Beach (Director, Lifetime Engagements, Fidelity Investments) and Bonita Brockert (Independent Dance Instructor) took second place. Robert Warfel (Public Safety and Law Enforcement Executive) and Desiree Mainous (Owner, Arthur Murray Dance Studio – Montgomery) placed third.
In the fundraising arena, Robert Warfel (Public Safety and Law Enforcement Executive) placed second and Felisa Insignares (founder of ELEVATI Elevated Essentials and Owner Designer Items & More Boutique) placed third.
As the Cincinnati Arts Association’s largest annual fundraiser, the popular event raised $104,000 in support of the organization’s acclaimed arts education and community engagement programs, which reach over 75,000 Cincinnatians annually.
Inspired by the hit TV show Dancing with the Stars, Dancing for the Stars 2026 featured six Cincinnati celebrities paired with some of the area’s finest professional dancers in a competition program at which the audience vote and judges scores propelled the winners to victory. The competitive dance theme for the evening was the 1950s, and each dance pair had a maximum of three minutes to woo the crowd and the judges.
The night featured the following dance pairs, in performance order:
- Dr. Mona Foad (Founder & CEO, Mona Dermatology) and Jozsef Parragh (Independent Dance Instructor): “The House is Rockin’” – Wynonna Judd
- Nicholas Dunigan (Vice President, Wealth Management for Fifth Third Bank) and Melissa Vaughn (Arthur Murray – Montgomery): “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” – Hauser
- Meeka Owens (Cincinnati City Councilwoman) and Alyenendrov Tsorokean (Phoenix Rising Ballroom) “Respect” – Aretha Franklin
- Alex Beach (Fidelity Investments) and Bonita Brockert (Independent Dance Instructor): “Boogie-Woogie Queen” – Shayna Thompson
- Robert Warfel (Public Safety and Law Enforcement Executive) and Desiree Mainous (Owner, Arthur Murray – Montgomery): “Jailhouse Rock” – Elvis
- Felisa Insignares (founder, ELEVATI Elevated Essentials and Owner of Designer Items & More Boutique) and James Branham (Arthur Murray – Dayton): “Mambo Italiano” – Dean Martin and Rosemary Clooney
Event emcees were Chris O’Brien and Janeen Coyle (former hosts of “Married with Microphones,” 103.5 WGRR-FM). The competition judges were Doreen Beatrice (Dancing for the Stars Professional Alumna and committee member), Douglas Beal (Independent Dance Instructor and committee member), and Pam Kravetz (Nationally Recognized Artist and Arts Educator | Celebrity Dancer, Dancing for the Stars 2018)
In addition, Dancing for the Stars 2026 featured:
- Dinner-by-the-Bite provided by Baru, DelightMore, eat well celebrations and feasts, Prime Cincinnati, Sebastian Bakehouse, Skyline Chili, Street City Pub, Vintage on Race.
- A special showcase performance by 2026 Overture Awards Vocal Music winner, William Wittekind (grade 12, Saint Xavier High School).
- Music by DJ JD Hughes of 103.5 WGRR-FM.
Event Committee: Douglas Beal, Doreen Beatrice, Terry Foster, Alex Johns, Ginger Loftin, Rosemary Schlachter
Presenting Sponsor: TriHealth
Event Sponsors: Accent on Cincinnati, Arthur Murray – Cincinnati, Arthur Murray – Dayton, Arthur Murray – West Chester, Bonita Brockert, Jozsef Parragh, The Party Source, Phoenix Rising Ballroom, Punky’s Pixels
The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported [in part] by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio.
Cincinnati Arts Association’s Education & community Engagement Programs
CAA’s Education & Community Engagement department cultivates diverse, inclusive, and accessible arts engagements, seeking to remove barriers preventing arts participation. Committed to a practice of antiracism, the Education and Community Engagement department encourages the use of CAA venues, develops diverse arts supporters, and fosters an appreciation and understanding of diverse arts disciplines, while encouraging and supporting practicing arts educators and administrators, audiences, and aspiring artists.
SchoolTime presents a series of programs that feature nationally recognized artists at the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. The Artists on Tour program brings a variety of arts experiences directly to schools, community centers, and other organizations. The finest local teaching artists in the region enhance learning with unique programs that vary in culture and art form.
The Arts in Healing Initiative integrates the performing and visual arts in medical and community healthcare settings and other non-traditional settings to promote community wellness and encourage the community to explore the arts as an active part of their healing and ongoing wellness.
The Overture Awards is a program that recognizes and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9-12. Its mission is to encourage arts education as an integral part of a student’s academic experience and to create an environment that encourages training in, and appreciation of, the arts. The Overture Awards is the area’s largest solo arts competition and offers awards in six artistic disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theatre, visual art, and vocal music.
Now in its 30th year, the Overture Awards has granted more than $1,000,000 to youth and arts educators in the Tri-state region. The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce program).
CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of two of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves more than 600,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies, including Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Symphony/Pops Orchestras, May Festival, and First Financial Bank Broadway in Cincinnati, presented by TriHealth. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more 2.1 million youth and adults.
# # #
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 