Dance marathon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A dance marathon is an event in which people stay on their feet for over 24 hours. It started as a popular fad in the 1920s and 1930s, when organised dance endurance contests attracted people to compete to achieve fame or win monetary prizes.[1][2] A 1969 film about the fad, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, based on the 1935 book of the same name, written by Horace McCoy who was a bouncer at several such marathons,[3] popularised the idea, and prompted students at Pennsylvania State University and Northwestern University to create charity dance marathons.
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[edit] 1920s and 1930s
One notable account of marathon dancing comes from the early chapters of Anita O'Day's memoir, High Times Hard Times: "It seems unbelievable now but there were once fifteen thousand people-- promoters, emcees, floor judges, trainers, nurses, cooks, janitors, cashiers, ticket-takers, publicity agents, promotion men, musicians, contestants and even a lawyer-- whose main source of income over a number of years came from endurance shows."[4]
[edit] Charity dance marathons
Several colleges and universities sponsor dance marathon competitions to raise money for national and local charities. Two of the oldest and biggest are Penn State's "Thon" and Northwestern's "DM."
The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly referred to as THON', is a two day dance marathon that takes place every February at the Pennsylvania State University with the purpose of raising money to combat children's cancer. It was started in 1973 by the University's Interfraternity Council, and in its first year, more than $2,000 was raised, with 39 couples dancing for 30 hours straight. Today, it is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world[5][6] with $7,490,133.87 having been raised at the 2009 event, pushing the overall money total since THON's inception to nearly $60 million. The money that is raised is donated to The Four Diamonds Fund, a charity devoted to defeating pediatric cancer through research and caring for patients at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center Children's Hospital.
Founded in 1975, the Northwestern University Dance Marathon is one of the world's largest student-run philanthropies. The event brings together over 1,400 students, faculty, and staff to participate during a 30-hour period at the end of the winter quarter. The DM Committee is composed of over 400 students and chooses a new charity each year. In 2009, students raised $917,834 for Project Kindle, an organization that runs summer camps for children with HIV/AIDS.
[edit] References
- ^ "Dance Marathons" by Renee Camus, in: U.S.A. Twenties, Grolier, 2004 hardcover ISBN 0717260194, 2005 paperback ISBN 0-7172-6013-5
- ^ Frank M. Calabria, "Dance of the sleepwalkers: the dance marathon fad". Popular Press, 1993, ISBN 0879725702. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BnoSrB7LJkIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=marathon+dance&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ Carol J. Martin, "Dance marathons: performing American culture of the 1920s and 1930s". Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1994, ISBN 0878057013. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AFSfJ07LlhQC&pg=PA174&dq=marathon+dance&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&cd=2#v=onepage&q=horace%20mccoy&f=false. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ High Times Hard Times, Anita O'Day, pg. 34.
- ^ Hurst, David (2009-02-22). "PSU gives back with THON" (in English). The Altoona Mirror (Altoona Mirror). http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/516354.html. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
- ^ McCormack, Lauren (2009-02-02). "Penn State's THON a charitable tradition" (in English). The Daily Local News (Daily Local News). http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2009/02/02/news/doc4986ed3f051db739928527.txt. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
