Hollywood Dances For A Cure

Every singer has the moment, one instance in which they believe they can be something more than they are.

Kait Weston’s moment came two years ago when a woman in the audience broke down crying as she sang inside of a New York café.

“That was my moment of inspiration when I realized I could connect with people,” Kait said. “I could tell there was some stress in her life, and it felt good to take her away from that.”

That moment is partly why Kait bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles two years ago. It’s partly why when she told her mom she’d be back in two weeks, she never returned. It’s partly why she cans for THON on Hollywood Boulevard while singing. It’s partly why she’ll be performing at Penn State’s THON for a second year in a row in less than two weeks.

“It was 2011, and I needed a change,” Kait said. “Hollywood is where every singer, producer, actor and everyone else is chasing their dream.”

Having missed cuts on The Voice, X-Factor and American Idol, Kait took to YouTube to try to gain fame. That’s how she met Dan Fratoni, a Penn State student and THON’s 2012 public relations captain. Dan pitched THON to Kait, and she was hooked.

“I fell in love with THON so fast when I realized how much money we could raise,” Weston said. “It inspired me.”

The Hollywood dance marathon – or Lights Camera Cure – was started by Penn State’s Los Angeles alumni chapter in 2011.

“A group of us worked to get it started a few years ago,” said Gary Werkheiser, who graduated from Penn State in 1981.

Gary and his wife Valerie hosted a small get-together at their house two years ago to raise money for THON. Gary felt there was enough interest that they could do something bigger with the help of his children Devon and Vanessa.

“It was my idea to do a dance-a-thon last year, a mini version of Penn State’s THON,” Gary said.

That’s how Gary got in contact with Kait, who had made a YouTube video with Dan to benefit THON, to perform at the first ever Lights Camera Cure event.

“Our goal was to raise $10,000 last year, and we ended up raising $37,000,” Gary said.

Kait performed at Lights Camera Cure, and she also took up Dan’s offer to perform at Penn State’s THON one month later.

“15,000 people, that’s huge,” Kait said. “I really don’t have words for it.”

Kait’s sister Kelsey attended THON last year to see her sister perform.

“We have school spirit at Full Sail (University),” Kelsey said. “But there’s nothing that quite equates to Penn State’s school spirit. It’s mind blowing to think something this big exists.”

Kelsey is sporting a new look one year later after she promised to shave her head if she could raise $1,500 in three weeks for THON.

“I made a promise to the internet,” Kelsey said. “It’s something I thought about doing before, but it’s a bit surreal and exciting. I think things like this really inspire people and keeps awareness out there.”

Kelsie donated her hair to kids with cancer.

Lights Camera Cure, which held a 6-hour dance marathon last Sunday with 166 dancers and over 650 volunteers, shattered last year’s total and raised over $67,000 this year. Gary hopes they can raise $100,000 next year.

“That would be the pretty logical goal,” Gary said. “It’s very, very exciting, so how do we top that? We’ve got a lot of work that falls on a few people, so hopefully we get more people involved and make it more of a West Coast event with other chapters.”

Kait is coming to Happy Valley a few days before her Friday night performance to have more time to embrace THON.

“It doesn’t get better than THON,” Kait said.

THON Countdown: 14 days until THON ... FTK!