If there is ever a good enough reason for guys to wear briefs,
it may be found in the official 13-page “Dance Marathon
Dancer Survival Guide.”
“Gentlemen” participating in the event should do so
if they “want to walk properly in the week following the
event.”
Now in its fifth year, the UCLA Dance Marathon, an annual event
that raised $197,000 last year to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser
Pediatric AIDS Foundation, has shown that it is not just your
average “one, two step.”
From 11 a.m. Saturday until 1 p.m. Sunday and to the theme
“World Tour 2006, Destination: Cure,” 700 students are
expected to dance ““ or at least stay on their feet ““
for 26 hours in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
This year’s event marks several years of steady growth for
Dance Marathon, which was first held in 2002 in Bradley
International Hall with 180 dancers. The event has almost doubled
the amount of money it raised each year since and moved to Ackerman
after outgrowing both Bradley Hall and the Covel Grand Horizon
Ballroom.
Registered dancers for this year’s Dance Marathon were
required to gather at least $225 in donations in order to
participate, and organizers hope to raise more than $200,000.
Jennie Herriot, public relations chair for the Dance Marathon
committee, said the money donated to the foundation will go toward
research, prevention, service and counseling programs for children
infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide.
The fun of the event is in “being surrounded by friends
and meeting new people, and even when it’s not fun, just
knowing that you’re doing something worthwhile,” she
said.
Herriot said this year’s Dance Marathon will be divided
into eight three-hour themed shifts spanning several places around
the world, including “New York, New Year, Same Fight,”
Rio De Janeiro’s “Carnival MasquerAIDS: Celebrate
Life” and the Great Wall of China’s “2006: The
Year of the DM Dancer.”
Previously a dancer herself, Herriot knows that the event is a
physical challenge.
“The most difficult part is staying on your feet,”
she said. “It starts to hurt, but when that happens you have
to keep in mind you’re doing it for a really important
cause.”
Moralers, people who sign up for specific shifts to cheer on
dancers and keep them motivated during the 26 hours, are to
accompany the dancers. Moralers are encouraged to dress up to match
their themed shifts and do whatever they can to support the
dancers, Herriot said.
“By 6 or 9 a.m., it really helps for dancers to have their
friends or anybody with a lot of energy to be there to cheer them
on,” Herriot said.
The 87-member committee that began planning last October had to
overcome logistical challenges such as providing food for hundreds
of people, organizing fundraising, and planning entertainment to
last the entire duration.
Coordinating the event was not easy, Herriot said regarding the
expected celebrity appearances, including Camryn Manheim from the
television show “The Practice”; speaker appearances;
and performances by myriad campus cultural groups.
The committee scheduled the event for Presidents’ Day
weekend, Herriot said, because “we wanted to give the dancers
an extra day to recover.”
This weekend’s event is a big commitment on the part of
moralers, dancers, committee members and UCLA, but what draws so
many people to Dance Marathon is the underlying cause to fight HIV
and AIDS, Herriot said.
“It’s my last quarter, and I wanted to make the most
of my experience here,” said Amy Sargious, a fifth-year
psychobiology student who will be dancing for the first time this
weekend.
“It’s supposed to be really fun,” she said.
“It’s a long time, but it’s worth it.”
She and people who have been previously involved in Dance
Marathon see how far it has come with the help of student
participation.
“Since it started (being held) in Covel, the scope of the
Dance Marathon has gotten bigger and bigger,” said Thanh Mai,
a fourth-year biology student who is planning to be a moraler for
the third time.
Other events held by the Dance Marathon Committee earlier this
year focused on ways for participating dancers to raise money to
reach their required pledge totals. The largest was a poker
tournament held last month, which raised $850.