He’s the swing dancing accountant from Corydon, and he’s putting his happy feet to work to dance with the goal of raising money for an important cause.
Ike Orwick is one of eight dancers for this year’s United We Stand Style Show and Dancing with the Stars event to raise money for Hosparus, a non-profit hospice organization that provides care, comfort and counseling to individuals with terminal illnesses and their families.
“Hosparus has helped many of my friends’ families at difficult times in their lives,” Ike said. “A good friend, Ann Bennett, chairs the local Southern Indiana event. She asked me to participate. I asked her to give me two years to get ready. She reminded me my two years were up, so I’m all in for the 2011 event.”
Ike’s days are dedicated to working with clients in his role as a partner of Rodefer Moss & Co, PLLC, a three-state accounting firm with offices in New Albany and Corydon.
His nights? They’re spent with the cha-cha; rumba; fox trot; east coast swing; and other dance moves.
It’s his way of exercise, enjoyment, and it has become to some degree a way of life.
Ike, 55, a Corydon native and graduate of Corydon Central High School, began dancing as a teen-ager after a fitful start in junior high.
“I was afraid to dance as a young kid back in junior high,” he says. “When I was a teen-ager my parents taught me how to swing dance. They encouraged me. These days I’m willing to try almost anything.”
After graduation from Indiana University Southeast in 1980, Ike began his accounting career – and kept dancing. He and his wife, Denise, try to get out and dance a couple of evenings a week.
“I enjoy the music, the fun, exercise and energy that go with dancing,” he adds. “You can make a bad day better with dancing. Two of my sons like to dance. It’s not the styles I prefer, but it’s all fun.
“There was a movie out a few years ago called ‘Shall We Dance’ with Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere. I identify with the Richard Gere character, but only as far as the dance moves. We don’t look much alike.”
The Dancing with the Stars event to raise money for Hosparus is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 at Huber’s Orchard & Winery, Plantation Hall, 19816 Huber Road, Starlight, Indiana. Tickets are $75 per person. For more information on the event, contact Jamie Longacre at 812-945-4596 or jlongacre@hosparus.org.
Ike does admit to some problems on the dance floor.
“Trying to learn line dances has never been good for me,” he said. As for how his work as an accountant relates to his dancing, he’s very clear: “It doesn’t, but in dancing and accounting it helps to know how to count.”
Good luck, Ike! We'll all be rooting for you!