So, this weekend was Dance Marathon 2011. The primary beneficiary was the Children's Heart Foundation (CHF) and the Evanston Community Foundation (ECF). First of all, I just need to report the fund raising total: $1,019,130!! This year's DM was the biggest yet and the first to break 1 million dollars. I am so proud to start my DM story with that legacy.
After tech week, the Productions Committee was called at 3:00 in the afternoon on Friday to put together the finishing touches on tent set-up. This included final programming for lights, getting all of our things out of the tent, final announcements, and clean-up. Then, a bit before 7:00, we all lined up with the other committees to make a tunnel for the dancers to run through as they entered the tent while we cheered for them. It was really fun to see how many people were participating, but also how many of them I knew. The collective effervescence of the moment created solidarity among all those who were participating across the roles.
Once the dancers were in, we started off with an exciting first block (the marathon is divided into 10 3-hour blocks, each with its own theme). I ended up dancing the first block with my friends from the team, and less than halfway through we all had to step out to change out of our jeans and into shorts. The tent got so hot! After that, the marathon fell into a nice rhythm of being at the lights station, dancing, block changes, and trips to the committee rooms.
I really loved everything we did this weekend. When I was at the board, I was really running the show, and that was so cool. DM is a time when all the lighting people get to play with the fun/cool effects that we can't use in regular theater, so to be able to use such saturated colors, crazy gobos, rotating effects, blinders, and make everything move to a beat was a joy. In the pictures, we all look so serious because we're concentrating so hard, but it's all about timing the things we want to do so it looks and feels good with the music. I was dancing at the board so I could keep the beat of each song as I was making things happen.
Throughout the event, there were videos made by student groups, celebrities, companies, organizations, and the emcees that were a fun break from the dance party. We also had performances by some student groups during meals (dancing, stepping, drumline), and, my personal favorite, the 30 Hour Dance. The 30 Hour Dance is a choreographed dance that we learn in pieces, one per block. I started paying attention around block 5 (my first at the board), and got really excited (maybe a little too much so?) when it was time for the next installment. What can I say, it's a good dance!
Block 10 is a really unique experience. Everyone wears the DM shirt for that year, so we have that solidarity before we are even all gathered in the tent. Since it's the last block, there's extra energy to get through it because of the final fund raising reports, speeches, videos, recognitions, and the 30 Hour Dance. During block 10, I got to dance with my friends, run the board for a song, have committee recognition on stage (which included a fun cue that drew attention to our designers who intentionally stayed at the board for the pleasure of being able to make the cue...lighting nerds...), and just celebrate the success of the event.
After the dancers left, DM Productions still had work to do. We had to lower all of our truss so that sound could be gone immediately. While it was down, we got most of the lights and all of the cable off and started coiling it. We had part 1 of strike until about 4AM, then reconvened at 10AM to finish the job. We finished around 1:30PM and proceeded to Walker Bros. Pancake House for a celebratory meal where we found out that our committee won the spirit award. Everyone was exhausted, but nobody was disappointed with how things went.
There is no easy way to describe how moving it was to feel the love in the room as we finished the marathon together. Nobody expected that over a million dollars would be raised and the sincerity of the organization representatives' thanks brought everyone to tears. There's something about the achievement of this type of feat that brings people together in a way that nothing else can. To get through a grueling 30 hours of physical and mental exertion without knowing the final result of the effort is a bonding experience like no other.
Today is awesome because I get to sleep after DM!
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