Decade of dance, lifetime of hope

Many students struggle to stay awake during class, let alone trying to stay awake for 36 hours of dancing.\nBut that's exactly what 700 dancers in the 10th annual Dance Marathon will be trying to do this weekend. The Marathon begins at 8 p.m. tonight in the Health, Physical, Education and Recreation gymnasium.\nDance Marathon benefits Riley Hospital for Children, the largest intensive care children's hospital in the country. This year's theme, "Decade of Dance, Lifetime of Hope," celebrates the past 10 years of the event, during which more than $1 million has been raised for the hospital.\n"We help kids directly," said senior Jeff Penzenik, a vice president for the event. "We have results from the things we do for the kids, and it's especially great to have the kids from Riley there during the event playing and dancing with you."\nThe children will join the dancers on the floor, who will be assisted by more than 200 "mass members." The mass members will help throughout the dance with various jobs to support the dancers. About 130 students also served on this year's Dance Marathon Council, bringing the number of students involved to more than 1,000.\nAlpha Omicron Pi is entering Dance Marathon for its first year, sponsoring 22 dancers and seven mass members. Beth Phillips, a sophomore, is the sorority's co-chair for the event and will also be dancing.\n"This is really exciting for us because it's our first year in Dance Marathon," she said. "We went into this not knowing what to expect, and we have been really happy with it so far."\nAlpha Omicron Pi set a goal for themselves to raise $5,000 for the event, but the marathon as a whole does not have any specific goals.\n"Whatever we raise is whatever we raise, and we know we've put 100 percent into it," Penzenik said. "The kids at Riley aren't worried about numbers, they're happy to come out and have a good time."\nMany dancers are also supported by friends and family.\nJunior Jill Hibshman is the co-chair of the event for Sigma Delta Tau, which is sponsoring 34 students. Hibshman said she has been conserving sleep for the event but is also concerned about her sorority's participants.\n"We're putting up signs for our dancers to let them know that we support them," she said. "We're sending them encouraging notes, and also having members of the house come out and visit them during the marathon and bring them treats."\nDancers are also encouraged by the live music of 15 bands. The Almighty Remainders open the dance at 8:40 p.m. Friday evening, Mike and Joe will close the dance at 5:40 a.m. Sunday morning. Throughout the weekend, Bloomington groups Straight No Chaser and Danagas will be performing, along with other bands including X-Ray Roger Jimmy, Three Minute Mile and Ladies First.\nThere are no more spots available to dance this year, and Penzenik is unsure if next year's dance will be larger. He said it's difficult to find a building big enough to support more dancers.\n"We're more worried about improving the quality of the dance, enforcing fund-raising limits and really making it an honor to dance at the dance marathon," he said.\nStudents can visit the dance any time during the evening for free to stop and hear bands or visit friends who are dancing, Penzenik said.