by Diane C. Lade

Emily Taylor Kaufman is a young girl who has impressive ambitions: to see her name in Broadway lights, sing before thousands during a halftime show, maybe take a recurring TV show role. She also has Type 1 diabetes, a potentially life-threatening medical condition requiring constant monitoring. The Cooper City middle school student isn't about to let that get in the way of her big dreams.She's one of 10 Florida youths taking the stage on Friday with multi-Grammy-winning performer Phil Collins as part of the Little Dreams Foundation's annual fundraising dinner and concert at The Fillmore Miami Beach. "They call us 'Dreamers'. There's a lot of competition out there but I'm not afraid," said Emily, 11, an upbeat, 75 pound powerhouse whose favorite songs are 'big belty' numbers. She was picked from more than 100 youngsters who auditioned for Little Dreams in Deerfield Beach last year after singing Whitney Houston's high-pitched ballad, "I Have Nothing".