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The theme for the Dance Marathon 23 Morale Captain dance was Space Jam, after the animated 1990s movie featuring Michael Jordan.

To prepare for the dance, morale captains learned the dance a week ago, then attended three or four two-hour practices.

“To be a morale captain, you need organization, motivation, and encouragement,” said UI senior Tayler Whitters,a Dance Marathon morale captain.

“It’s Dance Marathon 23, it’s our Michael Jordan year. What better way to incorporate Michael Jordan than Space Jam?” Clint Donaldson, the morale director, said. “Everyone knows the movie, the logo.”

Donaldson said morale captains helped with recruitment, encouraging dancers and helping dancers raise money.

“To be a morale captain, you need organization, motivation, and encouragement,” said UI senior Tayler Whitters, an Dance Marathon morale captain.

This year, there are 50 more morale captains than last year.

“The most important thing about being a morale captain is to remind everyone to have fun. This organization, at the root of it all, everything’s for the kids,” Donaldson said. “The coolest thing about kids is that they love to have fun no matter what; if they’re going through cancer treatments, if they’re in the hospital beds, or if they’re five years’ cancer-free, they’re always looking to have fun. One of the things about captains that I love is that they’re always trying to keep it fun.”

UI junior Greg Krommelt, who is also a morale captain, said it takes a lot of passion and a love of Dance Marathon to be a captain.

“It’s incredible, because not only do you become a family with everyone in morale, but you’re also the ones who get to create the family atmosphere of DM of everyone coming together for the kids,” he said.

[Editor’s note: The story has been updated to reflect changes.]