Hosted by the UAB Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging, a newly renamed and rebranded multidisciplinary center within UAB’s School of Medicine, the fourth annual Dancing with the Silver Stars pairs local civic leaders with professional dancers in high-energy routines. Presented by Alacare Home Health & Hospice and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, the event takes place on Monday, Nov. 4, 2013, beginning with a reception at 6 p.m. at The Club.Dancing with the Silver Stars, Season 4, is open to the public; tickets must be purchased in advance. Individual tickets are $125. After Oct. 21, prices rise to $150 per person. Tables of eight are $1,500, $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000. For information or to purchase tickets or tables, call 205-975-5659, or visit www.uab.edu/dwtss.
Dancers will team with Fabian and Jackie Sanchez of Fred Astaire Studio in Hoover. Fabian Sanchez is a veteran of the hit ABC show “Dancing with the Stars” who competed with actress Marlee Matlin in the program’s sixth season. The local dancers are:
- Colleen P. Adams, a local business owner, ballroom dancer and model
- F. Cleveland Kinney, M.D., retired professor of geriatric psychiatry at UAB
- Dolly Ashton O’Neal, community volunteer and founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama
- Richard V. Sims III, M.D., professor in UAB’s Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care
- Ceil J. Snow, former Miss Alabama and director of UAB Governmental Relations
- The Hon. J. Scott Vowell, retired presiding judge of the Jefferson County Circuit Court and now partner at Vowell & Goldsmith, LLC
Attendees will also enjoy special entertainment by the Sugar Babies, a troupe of tap-dancers ranging in age from 53 to 72. The event’s emcee is Robert Levin, M.D., a Birmingham pediatrician and the voice of the University of Alabama Million Dollar Band.
Proceeds will support three $30,000 pilot grants to UAB faculty focused on community-based solutions to the challenges facing older adults. The projects and their leaders are:
- Cynthia Brown, M.D., Mobility Program During and After Hospitalization
- David Brown, Ph.D., Target Mobility Training Post-Stroke
- David Buys, Ph.D., Effects of Home-Delivered Meals to Elderly Patients After Hospitalization
Each project will test a concept that could help keep elderly adults physically mobile, mentally sharp and independent for as long as possible. Data gathered through these studies will position the researcher to leverage additional funding from government or industry sources to expand their research.
The planning committee for Dancing with the Silver Stars, Season 4, includes:
- Sally Hawley, Co-chair
- Diane Mooney, Co-chair
- Jan D. Hunter
- Jerry LaSuer
- Betty McMahon
- Susan Stofel
- John G. Beard
- Lynn Campisi