By Beau Bowman
@beauknows2
A lot of the focus of Dance Marathon is put on the kids and the dancers. But what about the people who help keep the show going throughout 24 hours?
Don Black danced at the first University of Iowa Dance Marathon in 1994. But in 1995, he moved up in the world and began to DJ the event.
After that, he began to bring others into the mix.
Brad Mumford, Troy Williams, and Jason Wells began to help Don DJ the Big Event early on.
Mumford is a University of Iowa alumni and Wells is the current basketball DJ at the UI.
Mumford said the DJ’s aren’t just tied to the UI Big Event.
“We go all the way from Chicago to Atlanta to Washington, and we even did Iowa State’s Dance Marathon this year,” he said.
Despite their travels, Black talked about how they are involved with the families just as much as they are with the music.
“We really listen to them,” he said. “We feel their pain and we support them.”
Williams said their involvement with the Big Event is genuine and deep.
“For the kids it’s not just an act,” he said. “We genuinely care about them and make sure they know that they come first. After all, this event is for them.”
After Dance Marathon 10, Black took a hiatus for nine years before coming back for Dance Marathon 19.
Black said that even though he is aging, he can still get the job done.
“We have to prove that we’re not old yet,” he said. “We just have to find new ways to bring the energy.”
