After 24 consecutive hours of dancing, reverberating music, flashing iridescent lights, and fundraising in the Iowa Memorial Union ballroom, University of Iowa Dance Marathon secured $1,558,324 for the Stead Family Children’s Hospital to support their fight against pediatric cancer.

“This is who we are and what we strive for,” Dance Marathon member Emely Pena said. “Let this moment inspire us to continue living with passion, supporting one another, and building a brighter future together.”

Friday night marked the 31st “Big Event,” earning a combined $37.5 million for the children’s hospital, completing 744 hours of dancing, and supporting more than 1,400 families impacted by childhood cancer. The total amount raised surpassed last year’s $1,454,929 by over $100,000. 

Facing fatigue, more than a thousand attendants including UI students, impacted families, and Dance Marathon executives pushed through the final hour of dancing, ending the night with a reveal of the amount raised. On stage, Dance Marathon employees held up black tote boards, each with a neon number that together showed the ultimate amount of money they raised on Saturday.

“It’s super awesome for these kids and these families. And it’s been a lot of tiredness, a lot of aching bones, but otherwise, my mind’s awake,” third-year student and Dance Marathon dancer Katie Henry said. “It’s very fulfilling to get to see because you hear a lot of stories from the families and see them around and see them having a good time.”

UI Dance Marathon is the largest student organization event and philanthropic effort on campus. Over 1,100 dancers registered for the event this year, each encouraged to raise $300 with a $30 registration fee.

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Throughout the event, the beige walls of the IMU donned pillowcases handmade by Dance Marathon members and a sheet displaying more than a hundred names of children who lost their lives to cancer. 

Nicole Kearney’s son Ambrose died of leukemia in 2007. She said she’s been attending Dance Marathons with her family since 2005, and Ambrose was able to attend three Dance Marathons before his death.

“It just means a lot, like three Dance Marathons, but he absolutely loved it and all they did for him,” Kearney said. “It’s always been a huge part of our life.”

Jarrod and Rhiannon Christensen are one of the families impacted by childhood cancer, and this year marked their third Dance Marathon. Accompanying them was their son Nolan, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at four years old. They said he is now in remission, and seeing the support of college students year after year is an inspiration.

“It’s wonderful to see how so few people can do so much,” Rhiannon Christensen said.

Quincy Lohman, chair of the Dance Marathon finance committee, said seeing the amount of money raised is always a special moment.

“You get goosebumps the whole time,” he said. “It’s great.” 

Dance Marathon has ingrained itself into many people’s lives after more than three decades of events. High schooler and volunteer Lauren Yacopucci said her family has helped out every year, and the experience shows just a part of the struggle to be diagnosed with cancer and the financial support Dance Marathon provides. 

“Even when I was just a kid with my mom, she always encouraged us to support something like this,” Yacopucci said. 

Mats and tiny cots filled the third floor of the IMU for short breaks members took throughout the event. Backstage were hair clippers representing the last traces of the many who shaved their heads for donation on the main stage in the dead of night.

18-year-old Mya Gulchrist has been going to Dance Marathons for over a decade after she was diagnosed with brain cancer at 18 months old and was a kid captain in 2024 for the Iowa football team. She said she created a foundation that donated more than $5,000 to the Dance Marathon as a way to pay it forward. 

Several speakers also took the stage to retell their experience with cancer and keep the crowd motivated throughout the night with various “power hours,” where participants would reach out to people for donations as music blasted through the ballroom. 

Krysty Bujakowska died from osteosarcoma last year. Her family was the final one to speak on Saturday evening. Bujakowska was a kid captain for the Iowa women’s basketball team, met Caitlin Clark, and saw Taylor Swift 19 days before she died. 

“She was strong,” Krysty’s mother said. “The cancer was very difficult, but the friendship was stronger than the cancer.”

As Dance Marathon leaders revealed the amount raised, many members were overtaken by emotion and were seen crying and holding hands. The event concluded with a “circle of hope” where members arranged themselves into a circle, arm in arm, and listened to music in memory of the children who had died fighting cancer.

“These families had to go through so much,” Henry said. “The least we can do is stand and participate and stay awake for these 24 hours.”