Greeks to dance the night away

‘ ‘ ‘ Volunteers are completing the final preparations for Pitt’s biggest dance party of the… ‘ ‘ ‘ Volunteers are completing the final preparations for Pitt’s biggest dance party of the year. ‘ ‘ ‘ Students will dance for 24 hours starting tomorrow at 11 a.m., as the annual Pitt Dance Marathon kicks off in the Fitzgerald Field House. ‘ ‘ ‘ The event is sponsored by the Interfraternity Conference and is a part of the organization’s five-year pledge to donate $500,000 to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. ‘ ‘ ‘ Currently in its fourth year, greek events have brought in $285,000 for the pledge, which is the largest pledge from any Pitt student group. The dance marathon is one of the biggest annual contributors and is projected to bring in about $75,000 this year, according to Greek Week overall co-chairs, Alexandra Conlon, Pete Hammerle and Megan Mautz. ‘ ‘ ‘ Greek organizations paid $695 for their first registered dancer and $175 for each additional dancer. Non-greek participants paid $100 per dancer, but the event itself is funded by allocations from the Student Government Board. ‘ ‘ ‘ The event will be ‘a year of everyone’s hard work come together,’ said Conlon and will feature performances and appearances from various student groups, including Pitt’s drum line, cheerleaders, dance team and African drum ensemble. ‘ ‘ ‘ Local DJ will be spinning with Pitt alum DJ Bonics closing from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sunday. Student band The Jungle will perform live at 5 p.m. tomorrow. ‘ ‘ ‘ Dancers are allowed to take breaks throughout the event, to participate in other dance marathon activities and to interact with the audience and their supporters. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We just prefer that [the dancers] do not sit or sleep. The idea is that you’re on your feet, moving for a whole day,’ said Mautz. ‘ ‘ ‘ As a result, break activities, like Eat ‘n’ Park cookie decorating and a Cornhole tournament, are designed to keep the participants moving. Games like Twister and 4-square will be open to the public as well. ‘ ‘ ‘ No coffee breaks will be available, however, as caffeine is banned from the event, at least for the registered dancers, said Mautz. Head organizers for the event made the decision after meeting with a Pitt nutritionist adviser about how to best prepare the dancers for being awake and active for 24 hours. ‘ ‘ ‘ In addition to targeting health concerns, Greek Week planners also set a goal of reviving the fun, party atmosphere that some feel was missing in recent dance marathons. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I want the dancers to feel like rock stars,’ said Hammerle. ‘ ‘ ‘ By focusing less on the numbers and paying more attention to the atmosphere of the event, the hope is that participants and the audience will get more out of the event. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We want to keep in everyone’s mind the reason why we’re having the event,’ said Mautz. ‘ ‘ ‘ The money from the pledge will go to the Lung and Thoracic Malignancy Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, because those cancers are most likely to affect the average college-aged group, she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ In addition to the money raised by the greeks, the public will also be able to donate at the event or online, at www.pittgreekweek.com. ‘ ‘ ‘ Friends and family are encouraged to get involved and support the dancers, not just financially, but for the dancers’ morale as well. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It really is a fun event,’ said Mautz, and having her friends with her last year made it all the more enjoyable. ‘The last hour was so great, and we all just collapsed on the floor together at the end,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We really need to keep people excited, because it’s for a good cause,’ said Hammerle.