Sue Diamond, 91, of Flowery Branch, has raised over $50,000 for Alzheimer's research as a competitor in the 2022 Dancing Stars of Atlanta gala. Diamond describes herself as "91 years young."
Diamond, who grew up in Atlanta, has loved dancing ever since she was a child. However, this is the first year she has participated in the Dancing Stars gala, which is similar to the popular ABC show, "Dancing with the Stars."
"My good friends at the University Yacht Club came up to me and asked me if I would like to be a star dancer for Alzheimer's, and I said yes ... I would love that," Diamond said. " I hate the disease and I want to do what I can ... to help cure it."
Several of Diamond's friends have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, including two who passed away from the disease. She said this gave her a personal connection to the donations she has continued to raise.
As of Tuesday, Diamond has raised about $53,000 for Alzheimer's research. While she has met her $50,000 goal, she said she hoped to raise even more donations leading up to the gala on May 21. At that gala, the star dancers will team up with professional dancers and face off in a dance competition.
Diamond said she has been traveling to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio once a week to practice with her professional dancer, William Allison.
"We've been doing this since Christmas, once a week," Diamond said. "He's a very nice young man ... he just turned 32, and he's a good dancer. He's teaching me a lot."
Growing up, Diamond said she took lessons in ballet and tap dancing, but there is still one dance move she will not use as part of the Dancing Stars gala.
"I tried the slash ... when you're dancing and you go through the legs," Diamond said. "I saw it on TV ... they got another lady to come and help me and show me how to do it. So I got most of the way down and I said, 'you know what? No.' and everybody started laughing, and we laughed and laughed about it."
Two mirror ball trophies will be given out at the event: one for raising the most money for Alzheimer's research, and the other for the highest scored ballroom dance at the event.
Diamond said many of her friends at the University Yacht Club in Flowery Branch call her "Super Sue," which is exactly how one of her main sponsors views her.
Christine Strange said she was originally supposed to be a competitor in the Dancing Stars gala but had to drop out after breaking her collarbone. While she was no longer able to compete, she felt called to donate to Diamond's fundraising efforts by purchasing a table at the gala.
"When you buy a table, you can select the dancer that you want to sponsor," Strange said. "I scrolled through all the dancers, all lovely people, but Sue stood out ... I was just so impressed by her that in her 90s, she was fearless and agreed to compete."
Strange said she felt drawn to supporting Alzheimer's research as her father-in-law has dementia. Her mother also passed away from complications from dementia.
"As my mom got dementia more, she made herself isolated, didn't socialize," Strange said. "Sue is very very social, very active. She drives, she texts, which surprised me ... she's just very engaged in life, and I think that's a great lesson for all of us that even though you're older you still need to live life as long as you can."
Diamond said even if she does not win one of the mirror ball awards, she is glad to raise money for the fight against Alzheimer's.
"It makes me feel like I have done something wonderful, good, in my 91 years of life, and my mom and daddy ... I know they're looking down and saying, 'Go!'" Diamond said.
Those looking to donate to Diamond's fundraising efforts and learn more about the 2022 Dancing Stars of Atlanta can visit this page. Those interested in donating to Alzheimer's research on behalf of Diamond can also text Diamond2022 to 51555.
Editor's note: An audio version of this story is available at the Soundcloud link at the top of this article.
