“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”

-Voltaire

For former Library trustee Robin Branstrom, reading and dancing blended together on March 5, 2016. Robin put on her dancing shoes to support ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center in Charlotte Ballet’s fourth annual fundraising gala, Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte, at the Knight Theatre.

Robin and her partner James Kopecky, a Charlotte Ballet company dancer, placed fourth in the competition but in our eyes she’s the brightest star of all, onstage and off. Her performance and fundraising efforts raised $29,056.18 to be shared by ImaginOn’s partner organizations, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte. As one of the forces behind ImaginOn’s opening in 2005, the facility – and its mission of bringing stories to life ”from the page to the stage” – is close to Robin’s heart.

Robin grew up around music and art, and she’s generously shared her lifelong passion as a board chair for both the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees. She’s also served on boards for the Charlotte Symphony, North Carolina Dance Theatre (now Charlotte Ballet), Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, the Women’s Impact Fund and currently chairs the board of the North Carolina Arts Council.

Branstrom describes her participation in Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte as a full-circle moment that brings together two of her favorite things – philanthropy and dance – in a new adventure. “You miss 100% of the shots you do not take…and that’s why I’m dancing!” she exclaimed before the performance.

Robin, we’re grateful you took the shot, and proud you set your sights on us. Thank you, and bravo!