Students are preparing for the 2017 Dance Marathon Big Event, which will begin Friday.
By Kit Fitzgerald
After months of anticipation, hard work, and preparation, members of Dance Marathon, the university’s largest student organization, will finally launch their Big Event in the IMU. In the end, they say, it’s all worth it for the kids.
The 24-hour event celebrates the amount of money participants raised for the pediatric cancer patients and their families treated at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
For many first-time dancers, such as freshman Kelsey Strandberg, the Big Event has been long anticipated.
“When I was in high school, I saw a lot of people post stuff about it, asking for money, and I didn’t quite understand it,” she said. “Then this year, they were recruiting people to sign up for it, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is something I heard about growing up. I should do it.’ ”
Strandberg said she expects the event to be very emotional, with a lot of happiness and sadness. She said there will be so many events, including rumored sumo wrestling and lip-sync battles, there will be no reason to be bored or want to sleep.
“You have to come in with an open mind,” said Greg Frommelt, a Dance Marathon morale captain. “Whatever you put in, you’ll get more back. So you have to buy into it.”
It also helps to be prepared, Frommelt said.
“It’s stressful trying to get to [the events],” he said. “You have to schedule your events out and plan ahead.”
Frommelt and Dance Marathon event director Mason Edwards also suggested bringing a couple key items for the event, including toothbrush/toothpaste, a change of clothes, and a fanny pack.
The most important item might be a change of shoes, Frommelt said. Feet are going to be sore.
Edwards disagreed. “Deodorant,” he said. “You’ll definitely need deodorant.
“It’s dancing for 24 hours, plus a lot of events … it’s exhausting and, at some points, painful.”
Those early morning hours are tough, he said. People might start to think they can’t stay awake any longer. But referencing the kids and families who the event helps will get people through any doubt they might have, he said.
“If you haven’t connected yet, push through,” he said. “You will find motivation from something at the event.”
There are several rooms or activities to tie the dancers closer to the people they’re raising money for. Every hour, a family who gains support from Dance Marathon will give a speech on the main stage.
There is a family room in which dancers can meet those families. There is also a graduation for the children who have been off treatment for five years. The graduation recognizes their battle with illness and celebrate the kids being cancer-free.
It is the favorite part of the night for both Edwards and Frommelt and something Strandberg said she looks forward to.
“You always hear a lot about the people are still in their battle, but this is a time you get to see kids who fought cancer and beat it,” Frommelt said. “It’s really touching.”
“I’m really excited to be there this weekend,” Stranberg said. “It’s going to be something really special.”