More than 940 student dancers are preparing to spend 26 hours on their feet this weekend during UCLA’s sixth annual Dance Marathon to benefit pediatric AIDS charities.
The dancers, who will be joined by performers, celebrities and a few hundred volunteers, are dancing to raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, as students have done for the past five years.
“I’m really excited; it’s a great event,” said Erin Katzen, who recently graduated and has raised $2,070 for her third marathon.
“It’s such an easy way to make a difference, and I feel very fortunate to be in a place where I have an opportunity to get involved,” said Katzen, who is dancing in her third marathon.
The money that Katzen and others raise will go to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation as well as new beneficiaries Camp Heartland and Camp Kindle, two summer camps dedicated to children with AIDS.
Over the past five years, Dance Marathon has raised $665,000, said Dance Marathon committee member Shannon Raj.
This year’s dancers have raised $240,000 in online donations alone, said Raj, who will tally donations throughout the event and reveal the final figure as the marathon comes to a close.
“It’s going to be the biggest dance marathon ever,” said marathon director Aviva Altmann, who expects to break the previous year’s record of $268,000.
The theme of this year’s Dance Marathon is School House Rocks, and shifts include Prom, In the Classroom and Spirit Week. Friends of registered dancers are encouraged to show up in school costume and trade shifts to keep morale high.
Live acts, from jugglers to musical groups such as ScatterTones and Mikey G and Dan from Danville, will work in tandem with volunteers to keep dancers upbeat and motivated.
Organizers also expect appearances by a number of celebrities, including actor James Franco from “Spider-Man 3,” Kimberly Caldwell of “American Idol” and U.S. women’s soccer goalie Saskia Kebber.
But organizers are making sure the cause of the event is not lost in the spectacle.
“Cause activities,” such as making crafts and writing letters to children with HIV/AIDS, are designed to remind participants of the very real individuals who benefit from the charity. Young speakers from the Glaser Foundation and the two camps, some of whom are HIV positive, will speak about their experiences.
“You definitely get pretty tired, but you’re consistently reminded why you’re there and what you’re doing it for,” said committee member Gabe Rose, who has danced at two marathons, and said he was touched by the speakers.
“It was just an … incredibly moving experience to see the kids we were actually helping,” Rose said.
Listening to the speakers “puts your life into perspective and makes you feel proud of what you’re doing,” Altmann said.
Participants in previous marathons have been doing their best to get the word out about the event.
Second-year cognitive science student Beth Velinsky volunteered this year to become a dancer captain in order to help raise funds and organize dancers. She said she was almost too sick to go to her first marathon, but felt great when the event was over.
Velinsky called the 26 hours she spent at Dance Marathon “the most amazing weekend of her life.”
Students will need to pay $20 to attend and those proceeds will also go to pediatric AIDS charities.