Drysdale girls perform dance for Dolly

WHEN Amy Jayne Everett, 14, affectionately known as “Dolly” took her own life in January, Australia acknowledged it was in the grips of a bullying epidemic.

Father of the Northern Territory teen, Tick Everett, said his daughter (the former face of Akubra) had been so badly cyber-bullied she’d felt there was no other way out. Now two young girls from Drysdale are hoping to spare others the same anguish.

Mackenzie Duffy, 11, and Skye McCormack, 12, came up with the idea of using their own social media platform, “Dance Nerdz”, to send a message of hope and with the help of their parents, filmed a touching dance tribute that’s already received thousands of hits on YouTube.

“The girls were reading about Dolly’s story and approached me and said they wanted to do something about it using dance,” Carol Duffy (Mackenzie’s mum) said.

“Myself and Skye’s mum Jaimie, approached Dolly’s family through her foundation page asking for permission and the family were really touched and honoured by it.”

Ms Duffy said the girls took two days to choreograph the routine and once it was complete, sent a final cut through to the Everett family before they published it.

“We wanted to make sure they were happy with it and they loved it, the girls have a really good following and I’m very proud of them for using it to spread a positive message,” Ms Duffy said.

“They’ve received so many messages from other kids saying thank you and that it means the world to them that the girls are there for them.”

Mackenzie said dance changed her life and when she heard about Dolly’s story, felt greatly affected by the tragedy.

“We (Skye and I) wanted everyone to know that bullying is never okay and that no one should feel like there’s no way out and that they can’t speak to anyone,” Mackenzie said.

“I’ve seen and experienced bullying before and dance is a good way to get out of whatever head space you’re in. You can dance and be yourself and express your feelings.”

Skye said their video had received an amazing response and they wanted to continue spreading Dolly’s final message.

“We want to inspire people and let them know they’re not alone and there’s always help out there, in the words of Dolly, ‘speak even if your voice shakes’.”