Cheer team part of 'Dancing with Our Stars'

Although the first Dancing with Our Stars was a fun, light-hearted affair, dancers were raising funds for serious causes -- local charities.

This year's occasion, "Dancing with Our Stars: Hollywood Edition," will be no different. The opening act will feature the Fort Scott High School cheer team performing two short dances, "Jailhouse Rock," by Elvis Presley and "We Go Together," from the movie "Grease."

Dancers will include: Dani Lundberg, Blake Lundberg, Bethany Phillips (FSHS Dance Team), Annyssa Davenport, Hannah Reeves, Minnie Sutton, Haleigh Fleeman, Maddie Barbour, Kelsey Stanley, Kennyn Baldwin and Emily Bowman.

The squad is dancing in support of The Cancer Unit of Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City in honor of 8-month-old Ty Lundberg, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at three weeks old, a news release said. The U.S. National Library of Medicine website says a neuroblastoma is a cancerous tumor that develops from nerve tissue and occurs in infants and children.

Born June 15, 2011, Ty is the son of Josh and Jacki Lundberg and nephew of dancers Dani and Blake Lundberg. Just having completed his eighth round of chemotherapy -- a total of 29 doses -- Ty has also undergone several surgeries and procedures.

Despite it all, his mother, Jacki, reports that he is a "very happy and chubby baby" and expressed thanks for all the support they have received as they "hunt" for a cure, the release said.

"We are so thankful for the girls' willingness to volunteer and help us again this year," Dancing With our Stars Chairwoman Belynda Davenport said. "They will also have a fishbowl in the lobby for donations. I'm extremely impressed by their desire to dance for Ty. He has had a rough start to his life and the girls want to help him and his family."

Also performing for the opening are last year's DWOS winners, Emmah Reeves and Thomas Nighswonger, who will perform their winning dance, "The Time of My Life" from the film "Dirty Dancing."

Performances are set for 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus, 2108 S. Horton.

Tickets may be purchased at the Country Cupboard in downtown Fort Scott and the Gordon Parks Museum on the FSCC campus. All seats are reserved and ticket prices are $10. VIP seating -- the first five rows of the center section -- is available for $15. At this time, the evening performance has almost sold out and the afternoon performance still has good seats available, the release said.

The Cancer Unit of Children's Mercy and all the other dancers' organizations will have booths at the matinee and evening performances. Audience members can vote for their favorite dancers by making a donation to their chosen charity. At the end of each performance, the team that gets the most donations at that performance will be announced and the proceeds will go to their charity.