FEB 08_Clayton Pioneer_2013 by Pioneer Publishers

February 8, 2013

Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com

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Mackenzie Ayers will dance for AIDS education PAMELA WIESENDANGER Clayton Pioneer

After a six-day trek climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with its elevation of over 19,000 feet, staying on her feet to dance for 26 hours will be a walk in the park. What brought Clayton resident Mackenzie Ayers to Africa last summer is the same cause that she will be dancing for on Feb. 16 and 17 in Dance Marathon: educating people about HIV and AIDS. Ayers is participating in this fundraiser held by the Pediatric AIDS Coalition (PAC) at the University of California, Los Angeles. “It’s a really hard thing, but one day of your life affects kids all over the world,” Ayers says. Ayers is in her second year of study at UCLA with a double major in political science and psychology. She is interested in government and wants to be a psychologist. “I love to hear people’s issues; I love to help people.”

Clayton resident Mackenzie Ayers taught HIV/AIDS awareness in a rural village in Africa during the summer of 2012. On Feb. 16 and 17, she will dance the night away to raise funds for the fight against pediatric HIV and AIDS.

Though she admits, initially, it was for selfish reasons, to gain world experience, that she volunteered with Support for International Change. SIC educates

Two-step, from page 1 It’s particularly impressive since couples dance competitions have been steadily gaining in popularity, thanks to the exposure from such T.V. programs as “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance.” The two have traveled worldwide in competitions, often serving as judges or performing for other dancers. It’s a wonderful way to “spend my retirement,” says Lundahl, who left her administrative position at Foothill Middle School in Walnut Creek almost four years ago.

They also teach dance at Levity Fitness in Clayton, and other Bay Area studios. Country Western is just one of the styles of dancing the duo performs, as competitions require a mastery of such dances as the Triple Two-step, the Polka, the Cha-Cha, the East Coast Swing, Night Club Twostep, and the West Coast Swing – the official dance for the state of California. Once viewed as an “artistic” pastime, couples dancing now enjoy athletic status at an Olympic level, requiring keen

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over the world, it’s (HIV and AIDS) a huge problem. It’s sad; it’s so preventable.” Now, Ayers is the campus coordinator for SIC and could not wait to sign up for Dance Marathon. The focus of PAC is pediatric HIV and AIDS. For the last 11 years, the marathon has contributed more than $3 million to its beneficiaries: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Project Kindle and UCLA AIDS Institute. The marathon brings together thousands of students, parents, alumni, community members and celebrities. Dancers learn more about the disease, meet young children affected and join the fight for a cure. “I’m literally taking a stand,” Ayers says, against pediatric HIV and AIDS.

school and community groups in Africa about HIV, tests residents and provides care for those who tested positive. “It changed me forever. All

To donate on behalf of Mackenzie Ayers, go to payitsquare.com/ collect-page/9941. For more information about the event and PAC, go to www.dancemarathon.ucla.edu.

physical fitness and the ability to dance in high heels. “I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been in, and I need it to do what we do,” Lundahl says. She had just left Foothill when she suffered a recurrence of breast cancer. Her dance career helped her through the treatment and reconstructive surgeries. “I kept telling myself I had to get healthy, because I needed to dance.” The next step on their dance card is the Calgary Dance Stampede in Canada in April. The two were “white-hatted” and made “honorary Calgarians” after winning the Dance Stampede in 2011. The iconic white

hat is bestowed on visiting dignitaries, and Johnson and Lundahl share the honor with U.S. presidents, the Dalai Lama and even Will and Kate. It’s not a cheap pastime, as Lundahl’s costumes can cost as much as $3,000, and travel expenses can escalate. But between their work as coaches and judges – plus some prize money – Lundahl says they “happily break even.” “I am passionate about dancing,” she says. “When I was being treated for cancer, I told myself ‘this isn’t how my life is going to end. I have more to do.’” And she and Craig are doing it, one two-step at a time.

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