Dancer exposition prepares for Rutgers University Dance Marathon 2015

Considering how Rutgers University Dance Marathon (RUDM) 2015 is only 12 days away, administrators, morale captains and students held a pep rally Friday afternoon in preparation for the spectacle.

Students affiliated with RUDM 2015 gathered to raise awareness of RUDM and boost dancer morale at the “RUDM Dancer Expo” Friday afternoon, braving the wind at Morrell Street below the College Avenue Student Center.

The dancer expo was planned so dancers and other University students interested in RUDM could ask questions about preparing for the event, said Monica Marrone, director of University Relations for RUDM 2015.

The actual dance marathon, scheduled for April 11 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Livingston campus, is the largest student-run fundraiser for the Embrace Kids Foundation in the state of New Jersey, Marrone said.

“(We also wanted) to give out information, because a lot of people come to the marathon either not sure where they can ask questions beforehand or what they should bring (or) what they should wear,” she said.

An Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy junior, Marrone said RUDM’s second year at the RAC would correct logistical mistakes that were made last year.

Some changes that participants should expect include a different floor layout, which affects where various events within RUDM will take place, as well as where certain dancers will dance, Marrone said.

“(We’re changing) simple things most people don’t think about,” she said. “We’re changing the location of where we put out dancer bins and our check-in and check-out system … things like that, (which) play into how the marathon flows.”

RUDM Entertainment staff members plan on boosting the morale of the 30-hour dancers in many ways, said Alix Ruggiero, assistant director of morale for RUDM.

A School of Arts and Sciences senior, Ruggiero said RUDM 2015 has 32 morale captains, which reflects a doubled figure from last year.

“We plan on increasing morale in a variety of ways,” she said. “We’re going to be doing the color wars competition, with eight different color teams competing against each other before and after the Marathon.”

In order to provide all 800 dancers with continuous entertainment throughout Dance Marathon, the color wars competition will have a tournament component and a social media component, which requires team members to use their unique team hashtag on social media, Ruggiero said.

The dancers inside the RAC will also be able to participate in a line dance that has been in developing stages since December, Ruggiero said. During the event, all dancers will be able to do the same dance at the same time.

“Once they’re tired, we plan to keep them motivated by helping them have fun, but also by reminding them why they dance,” she said. “We want to make sure that while they’re having fun, even when they get tired they know they’re doing this for a really great cause.”

RUDM administrators are hoping to raise at least $50,000 more than last year, said Nick Catania, assistant director of Fundraising Student Organizations for RUDM.

A School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, Catania said even though RUDM staff always wants to surpass their $1 million goal, there has been a trend illustrating a steady increase of funds raised over the past few years.

“I’m going to hope for another $50,000 more than last year,” he said. “We’re pushing past $700,000 — and that’s nice … in past years we’ve been jumping up almost $100,000 per year, but I don’t want to speculate that.”

Although it is too early to estimate how much the final total will be before the morning of April 12, last-minute contributions to RUDM usually raises a considerable amount of money before the Marathon ends, Catania said.

“It’s always too early to tell because people put in a lot of last-minute effort into this,” he said. “You see right up until the total is recorded and finalized … there’s usually a couple thousand dollars (more) by the very end.”

Even though preparing for 30 hours of non-stop dancing is difficult, it is worth the effort because it raises money for the Embrace Kids Foundation, which is based in New Brunswick, said Olivia Shaker, a part-time worker at Embrace Kids Foundation.

A School of Arts and Sciences junior, Shaker said understanding the implications of her fundraising helps her become self-motivated to work hard and raise as much money as possible for RUDM.

“I see the impact it has on the families I work with and I also see how much the kids appreciate it,” she said. “It really is amazing to see the smile on their face … when I’m here I really put my heart and soul out.”

Rutgers students should support, or at least be aware of Dance Marathon because raising money for Embrace Kids Foundation has a significant, direct impact on the New Brunswick community, Marrone said.

“The event really is close to our community because it’s all within New Brunswick,” she said. “People can see where their money’s going to, and the event should be as fantastic as always.”

Dan Corey is a Rutgers Business School first-year student majoring in pre-business and journalism and media studies. He is an Associate News Editor at The Daily Targum. Follow him on Twitter @_dancorey for more stories.