Rundown of events at Rutgers University Dance Marathon

As part of Rutgers University Dance Marathon (RUDM), events are held approximately every hour for students to participate in. 

For the Friday session, one of the notable parts of the night was the athletic pep rally at 8 p.m., which was a dance-off between different sports teams. This year, the track and field team, women’s rowing, men’s basketball and football team danced in front of the stage to choreography that they created themselves in order to compete for the prize, as well as bragging rights. 

After all four teams danced, students in the audience were asked to vote via text for which team performance was their favorite. In fourth place and third place were men’s basketball and women’s rowing, respectively. To determine who won the overall rally, the track and field team and football team were required to compete in an additional minute-long dance-off in which they danced separately to the same song, as well as a 30-second “free-for-all” dance-off together. 

Though the football team had won the dance-off from last year’s dance marathon, the track and field team, who were competing in the event for the first time, ended up winning the trophy this year. 

Several bands also performed at the Friday Saturday sessions, such as Nine Deeez Nite, which played throwback songs from the 1990’s, and Audio Riot, a local band that played covers of popular indie and pop songs. 

Captains at RUDM also taught the audience a line dance for 15 minutes every hour, which was a mashup of older classic songs, such as “Dancing Queen” by ABBA and modern hip-hop songs such as “SICKO MODE” by Travis Scott. 

Dylan Gonzalez, a School of Management and Labor Relations junior, and Charlotte Nordeen, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, were both involved in choreographing and teaching the dance at RUDM. 

“We’ve probably practiced about 40 hours worth in the past two or three days,” Gonzalez said. 

Nordeen added that planning the dance started several months before, during the Fall 2018 semester. The purpose of the dance was not only to get students to be active, but also encourage friendships to be made during the event.

Another part of RUDM was the silent disco on Saturday morning, which allowed students to choose between different channels to listen to on their headphones while dancing in the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC).

Both sessions of RUDM ended with closing ceremonies, with the Saturday ceremony revealing the total amount fundraised throughout the entire year.