Although lacking the television show’s multi-story stage and national audience, Brookline’s first annual Dancing with the Stars event on Sept. 21 achieved a feat of its own on Sept. 21: raising a total of $85,000 for a number of local causes.

The dance-off was hosted at Pine Manor’s Ellsworth Theatre by the Brookline Rotary Club, a coalition of professionals who organize community service projects and programs. It featured eight Brookline stars and fundraised for the Brookline Emergency Food Pantry, the Brookline Food Co-Op and each dancer’s chosen charity.

Health Department Director Alan Balsam, who fundraised for the Jennifer Lynch Committee on Domestic Violence, kicked off the evening with a lively and provocative jazz number. Later, Selectman Ken Goldstein, who danced to raise money for the Brookline Arts Center, took the stage with a fast-paced tango routine.

“The most important thing for me tonight was raising money for some very worthy causes,” Goldstein said. “It’s hard to dance, but it’s harder to go without food or to devote your life to charitable causes, and this helped people in both of those situations.”

Although Lisa Wisel, co-owner of Vine Ripe Grill, was the dancer who raised the most money for charity, Headmaster Deborah Holman took home Best Dancer with the highest marks of the evening. Fundraising for the Gretchen Underwood Scholarship fund, which provides grants to students who need assistance in paying for field trips or foreign exchange trips, Holman’s theatrical jive garnered high 7’s and 8’s.

“I danced from kindergarten to 9th grade, and I haven’t done it in 35 years,” Holman said. “It was a blast, and I loved getting back into dancing. There’s all different ways to raise money for important causes.”

A board of three judges, including former Performing Arts Curriculum Coordinator Lynn Modell, awarded performance scores on a 10-point basis while audience members pledged donations to the dancers of their choice.

“Judging was a lot of fun,” Modell said. “We were a little worried that our cars would be tomatoed, because there were popular dancers here tonight that didn’t get the highest scores.”

Goldstein said the competition, in addition to raising money, helped him improve as a dancer and develop a new skill.

“There was a personal challenge,” Goldstein said. “I wasn’t born to be a dancer, I don’t have any experience as a dancer, but it felt really good to try.”

Holman concurred in her acceptance speech for Best Dancer.

“I always tell students to break out of their comfort zones,” Holman said, “and this is what this was for me.”

Miriam El-Baz can be contacted at [email protected]. Photos by Caroline Fishkin.