Dancing With the Stars Arizona 2009

Arizona Kidney Foundation Swings into Action with Ballroom Dance Competition Gala to Raise Money for Those Afflicted with Chronic Kidney Disease      

(Phoenix, AZ) - Some of Arizona’s finest community-minded celebrity stars are set to showcase their fancy footwork on Friday, March 6 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. Arizona Kidney Foundation presents Dancing with the Stars 2009 and this year’s theme is Swing into Action – 1940′s style. Guests of the gala event will be treated to ballroom competitive dance exhibitions where daring individuals will be partnered with professionals from Fred Astaire Arizona. Revelers will be able to hit the dance floor to the sounds of The Two O’clock Jump Swing Band.

Now in its third year, this year’s Dancing with the Stars Arizona event is co-chaired by Libby Cohen, Jan Clayton, and Patricia “Patsy” Livi. All three co-chairs were celebrity star dancers at this event in 2008, the signature gala of the Arizona Kidney Foundation.

“After dancing last year, I was hooked, so when Linda Pope asked me to co-chair this year, I jumped at the chance. The initial success and unsurpassed entertainment of this event established it as a premiere Arizona fundraising event,” effuses Cohen. “It’s just pure entertainment,” adds Cohen. “Come out, forget about your cares, and dance the night away with our big band style orchestra.”

Clayton takes the co-chair reins after winning last year’s event.  “This event is unique because men have as much fun as the women,” laughs Clayton. “The Arizona Kidney Foundation has captured something exciting. You’re watching a real person who has spent hundreds of hours rehearsing – because no one is naturally a trained dancer. It takes so much technique.” 

The celebrity star dancers will be judged by professional ballroom dance adjudicators employing international ballroom dance competition standards to determine the male and female Judge’s Choice. But the evening has an added twist, much like the TV show, in that votes for the dancers and couples will also be available for purchase. Audience votes will be cast and counted for the selection of the Gold Performance Champion and Peoples Choice. Livi particularly relishes the community participation aspect of the event.  

“I danced in 2008 and people flew in to town to support me,” notes Livi. “It’s a great venue to show off our talent and although it’s intense and a lot of work; it’s also very rewarding. People in their twenties to their seventies are performing – and it’s all for a great cause.”

Unlike some charity events that involve a lot of sitting around and waiting between speakers, guests of Dancing with the Stars 2009 will walk right into a show with a 1940′s style atmosphere featuring dramatic staging and live auction items. Guests may also recognize Eulia Baranovsky and Steven Dougherty, 2007 World American Smooth Showdance Champions and 2006-2007 U.S. and World American Smooth Finalists, who will be presenting spectacular exhibition performances.

Immediate past chair Linda Pope was initially inspired by the passion of Arizona Kidney Foundation supporters Marguerite and Jack Clifford and Glenna Shapiro, CEO Emerita. Pope smiles when she reflects upon her involvement with the event and notes, “I had such a great time dancing in 2007 – ballroom dance is now one of my passions – that I became chair in 2008. I firmly believe in their many programs, not only for Arizona’s children and adults coping with kidney failure but for the greater community as we provide education about disease prevention, including the ‘Know Your GFR’ public service campaign that dramatically emphasizes the need for kidney health awareness.”

Glomerular Filtration Rate or GFR is considered to be a key indicator of kidney condition. The odds of slowing or managing kidney disease increase significantly when chronic kidney disease is detected early. One in nine American adults (26 million) has Chronic Kidney Disease – and, of those, 90 percent don’t know they have it, according to the Arizona Kidney Foundation. GFR offers everyone a way to check their kidneys with a simple blood test.

For more information on Dancing with the Stars Arizona 2009, including premier reservations, please call the Arizona Kidney Foundation at (602) 840-1644.

Know your GFR
www.KnowYourGFR.org

Arizona Kidney Foundation is a state wide non-profit foundation dedicated to providing education about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and helping kidney disease sufferers overcome the medical, financial and logistical challenges of CKD.  In 2009, the Foundation commemorates its 46^th anniversary of providing dynamic programs, direct patient support, kidney health initiatives and organ donation awareness.  For more information, call (602) 840-1644 or visit http://www.azkidney.org/.

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