Light on her feet

Ninety-year-old Kay Hunter cannot do without her heels. At home, she wears a pair of at least two-and-a-half-inch heels and still has a spring in her step.

The source of her longevity: dancing. Kathryn “Kay” Ida Hunter celebrated her 90th birthday in style on Saturday, dancing for 150 guests at the Londance Studio in Santa Ana.

“I know the years are there, but I don’t feel 90,” Hunter said. She is a 35-year resident of Huntington Beach.

At her birthday bash, Hunter donned a gray-green evening dress with long sleeves, because, she said, “I can’t wear a spaghetti strap now, can I?”

Hunter performed her jazz act on her birthday wearing a peacock blue ensemble laced with fringe, a faux-fur boa around her neck and her best accessory of all: an enviable joie de vivre.

She and her husband William met and danced at the Figueroa Ballroom in Los Angeles with the Pete Pontrelli Orchestra and at the popular Lickpier Ballroom. Hunter cherishes the memory of dancing with 1950s ballroom icon Lawrence Welk during a warm-up session when Welk would practice before he went on air to host his namesake TV show at the Hollywood Palladium.

Hunter and her husband’s shared passion for dancing helped them win dance contests in the 1940s and ‘50s, joining up with the Gliders group when ballroom dancing began to decline. The Gliders used to dance weekly at various venues in Orange County.

When her husband died in 1981, Hunter’s son Bill encouraged her to take up dancing again.

Hunter even attempted and won the Senior Queen of Huntington Beach title in 1990, although she’s circumspect about the title.

But her son’s AIDS-related death in 1994 devastated her. Bill Hunter’s last wish was that she continue to dance.

“I loved him for him,” said Hunter, unable to hold back a tear. “We had a very close and wonderful relationship.”

Bill’s partner, Tim Bennett, now is her adopted son, and the birthday bash was his idea, Hunter said.

So it was a given for Hunter to join the cast of the “Big Splash,” an annual show held in Laguna Beach that has raised millions in funds for the AIDS Services Foundation, Orange County.

Hunter spent time at the foundation and said sharing memories of her son with other people helped her relate to everyone.

“They were so envious of the fact that I and my son had such a great relationship and that I understood,” she said.

Hunter admitted going to pieces after her son’s death, but her strong spirit kept her going.

“I decided I was going to do the best job I could of living my life,” she said.

Her adopted family and a weekly dancing lesson at the Londance Studio helped her along.

“It’s been a therapy and a lifeline,” she said of her dancing, “and given me the most wonderful extended family.”

Over the years, she’s performed such numbers as “New York, New York”; “All That Jazz” from “Chicago”; her favorite, Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia,” which was in tribute to her son’s memory; “Hello Dolly”; and Ravel’s “Bolero” among others.

Her future plans include reserving a dance for her young physician who wrote in her 90th birthday note: “Save one for me when we celebrate your 100th!”

hbi-22-hunter-CPhotoInfo7U1S6AMP20060622j16myzncCHRISTOPHER HANSEN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Kay Hunter and her partner perform an ‘All That Jazz’ number from the musical Chicago for the Orange County AIDS Foundation.