Children's stories inspire dance teams

Senior Anna Santuro, whose brother is a patient at the Riley Hospital for Children, started participating in dance marathons in high school and has danced in the IU Dance Marathon for the past three years.

This year Santuro danced her final marathon for the IUDM Special Events team, which consisted of 27 dancers dressed in pink.

“It is my last year so I want to make the best of it and have the Riley kids around,” she said.

Teammate Greg Atamian returned to the marathon this year after taking two years off.
“It is my last year so I figured I might as well do it again,” the senior said. “You work hard for however many months to get ready for it, and it comes down to this.”

Junior Jordan Kay is a second time participant in the marathon and danced for the Special Events team this year. After her experience last year as a dancer, she said she decided to return to the fundraiser because of the emotional reward it gave her last year.

Kay said she was moved after hearing a Riley kid sing “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus.

“Their energy and spirits keep myself and everyone else going throughout the whole marathon,” she said. “There is so much excitement behind it. We are celebrating Riley children and Riley Hospital. It is all for the kids. It will always be for the kids.”

Director of Special Events Jason Ferree participated in his first marathon his freshman year with his fraternity and fell in love with the sense of community the 36 hour marathon creates. He decided to make IUDM a part of the rest of his
college career.

“It makes the kids feel like rock stars for a weekend,” Ferree said.

It was the Riley stories that kept Atamian motivated during the weekend.

“The weekend is just for them  to forget about everything, be the center of attention and it is kind of like a holiday,” Atamian said. “It makes me feel good about doing it,”

With about 17 hours remaining in the marathon, Atamian said he was still going strong and was confident that he would be able to make it. Kay was still enthusiastic about the marathon and looking forward to hearing Ryan White’s mother speak.

Kay said the stories have also helped her continue dancing.

“It is kind of scary that the marathon is flying by this year. I don’t want it to be over because I am having the time of my life,” she said.

Speeches by Director of the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center, Dr. Martin Kleiman, and Ryan White’s mother motivated Santuro to keep going and gave her more energy.

Atamian was nervous this year’s marathon wouldn’t beat last year’s total, but when the total of $1,602,713.20 was announced, he was stunned because it was the highest amount ever raised.

“I’m kind of sad that it’s over. I am tired but it was worth it,” he said.
While this was Atamian’s final marathon, Kay is already looking forward to returning for her third year.

“I couldn’t be happier seeing the total this year,” she said. “We are all overflowing with emotions. The end of the marathon is always bittersweet. I’m sad it’s over, but I cannot wait to do it all over again next year.”