Scoops owners performed 'magically' on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars
Feb. 4—Joe Meixl and Nancy Dobson, owners of Scoops in Elysian, are a big fan of ice cream. So much so that their dance number revolved around it during the eighth annual Dancing with the Mankato Stars fundraiser to benefit the American Red Cross serving southwest Minnesota.
Their swing dance, called "Ice Cream Man," told the story of a charming ice cream man in pursuit of a lovely customer.
Their performance included props such as a cardboard cutout of an ice cream truck and an ice cream sundae.
The audience — packed into the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, wearing light up sunglasses and waving around light up stars — adored them.
The audience even clapped along to their smooth and flirty moves.
Judges Bill Hotaling, Tony Vitale and Suavé from the Manhattan Dance Project gave them a combined score of 28 — 0nly two points short of a perfect score.
"If you guys were at a restaurant just dancing, I'd be watching along and enjoying," Vitale said.
The other two judges agreed.
"I was smiling and cheesing from ear to ear the whole time," Suavé said. "That is what performing is all about. You stole the show. Everything about it was so magical."
The crowd cheered loudly in agreement.
"We expect to win the grandpa and grandma division," Meixl, who recently turned 68, said about himself and his 64-year-old wife prior to performing.
Mitzi Roberts, owner of Dance Express and director of the event, laughed and jokingly said that a new division will be added just for them.
Meixl and Dobson were unlike the other competitors. Neither one of them was a professional dancer, and both of them are local stars. But Roberts saw potential in their ability to tear up the dance floor together.
"We typically partner a star up with one of our dancing pros here at Dance Express," she said. "But we had heard that people had seen them out and about at weddings and such, and that they're fun to watch, so I approached them as a couple to compete."
Roberts is grateful that she did. While helping the couple train for the event, it was clear to Roberts that they had something special.
"They're just so good together," she said. "Joe's a good leader and Nancy's a good follower."
Dobson said it's all thanks to their natural chemistry as a couple.
"And we just love dancing together," she added.
While training, Roberts said the two were excellent students who aimed to make the dance better and better each time they practiced.
Their hard work seemed to pay off in the end.
From training to competing, all of it was out of the comfort zone for Dobson, but she said Roberts was the best teacher and cheerleader she could have asked for.
Despite being the only couple competing with no professional dance background, neither one of them seemed nervous to show off their moves.
"We're just going to focus on making it a lot of fun," Dobson said before hitting the stage. "We have some great family and friends that are coming to cheer us on. And if you love ice cream, you're going to love our dance."
The couple competed against 11 other pairs, all of whom received endless applause, encouraging laughter and cheers from the crowd. If making the event a lot of fun were their goals as well, they all succeeded.
Meixl and Dobson left the night joyous and with the Grand Champion award in hand.
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