The party didn’t stop in The Shack on Friday night. MU Dance Marathon hosted a flash rave and scheduled it to end at 9:30 p.m., but students danced until midnight. Dance Marathon held the rave to kick off the fundraising year and raise awareness for the main event.
Dance Marathon, a yearlong fundraiser for the MU Children’s Hospital, culminates March 10 with a 12-hour-long rave in the Student Recreation Complex from noon to midnight. Participants are required to dance for the entire time. Students interested in the flash rave signed up on Dance Marathon’s website, dancemarathon.missouri.edu, to receive more information about the event.
“We stand and dance for 12 hours for kids who can’t, because they may be going through chemotherapy and blood transfusions, and all these crazy things that most people can’t imagine,” Dance Marathon spokeswoman Carly Love said. “It’s our way of saying ‘We’re there for you.’”
Dance Marathon pledged a $100,000 donation to the Children’s Hospital in 2008. Last year, the organization received $47,000 in donations, resulting in $60,000 toward that goal. Love said she thinks the pledge will be finished this year.
“The money, specifically the $100,000, goes to the Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Unit,” Love said. “Kids there have cancer, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and various blood conditions. It sucks for an adult to have cancer obviously, but for a kid to have cancer, they may never be able to have a first kiss, drive their first car, go to prom or go to their first college football game.”
Sophomore Steven Twidwell, who works on Dance Marathon’s entertainment committee, said it’s great to see the group’s hard work pay off.
“I love going to the hospital to see the results of the work we do,” he said. “There are signs on the rooms that say ‘This room was made possible by MU Dance Marathon.’”
Love said the rooms provided by Dance Marathon allow complex medical procedures that normally involve moving a sick child multiple times to be completed easily in one room.
MU Dance Marathon moved the flash rave from Rollins Street to The Shack this year, in conjunction with Mizzou Up All Night.
“We chose to move the rave into The Shack because it has a very intimate feel, and we can have everybody in the same place,” Love said. “For Mizzou Up All Night, we estimated an attendance of at least 1,200 people. It was at least 600 when I checked an hour ago at 8:00. For the flash rave, I just wanted to fill The Shack, and after tonight, we might consider getting a bigger space for next year.”
Freshmen Travis Holt, Jessica Cooksy and Brandon Hebert said they enjoyed the dancing Friday night and would attend the main event in the spring. Each had their respective turns dancing on stage while being cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd.
Sophomore Paige Travis, performing as DJ Remedy, said the crowd helped contribute to the success of the flash rave.
“The crowd makes the party, if you have a crowd that is motivated, you can go all night long, and I really think the cause motivated this crowd,” Travis said.
She said Dance Marathon’s cause was motivation for her as well.
“I would definitely be interested in performing for the main event,” Travis said. “It’s an awesome cause, they donated a lot last year, and it feels good to be a part of that.”
