By CAROLINE CARMICHAEL / Staff Writer

The first-ever Dancing Divas fashion show hosted by the Donna’s Dancers and Tammie’s Twirlers group went off without a hitch on March 1 at the Jemison City Hall Auditorium.

“I was proud of all of them,” Donna Ellison of Donna’s Dancers said. “They all did an excellent job, I thought — modeling and dancing.”

Jemison families packed into 250 seats as vendors from across the state lined the room with a variety of merchandise.

The evening kicked off with three dance routines performed by the dancers and twirlers of Donna’s Dancers and Tammie’s Twirlers, showcasing dance costumes available at local boutique Trendy Chic.

Participants were girls ages 2 to 10 years old.

Props completed their ensemble: Older girls danced with decorated coat hangers, younger girls danced with shopping bags and the youngest girls danced with plastic hand mirrors.

Trendy Chic also provided the outfits presented by the girls in the fashion show, which followed their performances.

Parents could purchase their daughters’ modeled outfits from Trendy Chic for a discounted price.

Door prizes fed the excitement as winners were announced with each break between shows. Prizes were donated by each vendor and performing child, allowing for a broad selection of gifts to guests.

All proceeds from the Dancing Divas fashion show aim to fund the purchase of a T-shirt heat press to design T-shirts for Donna’s Dancers and Tammie’s Twirlers.

“I think it’s good to have a goal, and for everybody that’s paying stuff, to know where their money’s going,” Tammie McGriff of Tammie’s Twirlers said. “It’s not for us, it will actually come back on them.”

McGriff said the event was “a lot of fun” to experience.

“It’s the first time we’ve done it, so it’s a learning experience,” McGriff said. “But I think it was great.”

McGriff said the girls of Donna’s Dancers and Tammie’s Twirlers accomplished much: They boldly performed in front of hundreds of people, learned how to take turns and made new friends.

“That’s our goal,” McGriff said.

For more information about the group, visit the Donna’s Dancers and Tammie’s Twirlers Facebook page.