Happy 25th

Dance marathon reaches silver anniversary, takes a look back on its history

In the beginning, there were 39. Now, couples vie to fill nearly 300 spaces available in the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

But in the beginning, who could have imagined the marathon would have reached this level?

The first event, held on Feb. 2 and 3, lasted for 30 hours in the HUB Ballroom. Of the 39 couples that entered, only 17 danced for the duration of the event. From this modest fund-raiser, a record-breaking philanthropy developed.

The $2,000 raised in 1973 was donated to the Sheltered Workshop for Retarded Children of Butler County. In following years, donations continued to increase and the proceeds from the dance marathon benefited The American Heart Association and the Easter Seals Society.

Walter Choroszewski danced as a member of the biology department that year. During the event's fledgling years, dancers had few of the luxuries available to participants today, he said.

"All you had was your own pit crew to keep you going," Choroszewski said, referring to friends from a sponsoring organization that came to support dancers. "We didn't have all the entertainment the dancers have now. I just ended up having a wet cloth to keep me going."

Since that time, organizers have devoted an increasing amount of attention to the welfare of dancers.

Morale committee members, known today as "yellow shirts," are responsible for the physical and mental well-being of dancers, said Rhonda Penn, 1997 morale chairwoman. Each morale worker is assigned one couple that they are responsible for during the entire weekend, she said.

In recent years, Penn said morale committee members have organized numerous activities to keep dancers' minds off the clock. Bathroom breaks, rubdowns and "the walk," a brief escape from the gym, are all scheduled to keep dancers entertained and alert.

In 1976, morale committee members and event organizers innocently began what has become a dance marathon tradition -- the line dance. An original dance is still choreographed each year and is kept under wraps until its unveiling at the event, Penn said.

"All I remember was that I was trying not to go to the bathroom," said Neg Norton, a dancer in the 1976 marathon and a member of the couple which won the time award for that year.

"Hang in there for the money," Negley remembers saying to his partner who he said had "absolutely freaked out," in order to keep her in the competition.

During the first years of the event, prizes were awarded to top couples. Both the couple which collected the most pledges and the couple which amassed the shortest amount of break time won prize money.

Soon, the practice of awarding prize money to top couples was discontinued so that all pledge money collected would benefit an organization. The Four Diamonds Fund received the $29,000 raised in 1977, its first year associated with dance marathon. The fund has received the proceeds from dance marathon every year since 1977.

After the completion of the 1978 marathon, organizers planned to travel to Hershey to present a check to Four Diamonds Fund officials, said Don Mains, a participant that marathon. On the drive to the medical center, a car in the opposing lane crossed the center line, striking the organizers' car. Kevin Steinberg, a passenger in the car, was killed.

Students made what Mains called "the supreme sacrifice" for dance marathon that year. He said the accident has had a bittersweet effect on those involved.

"A big motivation (in my life) has been this dance marathon," Mains said. He said that he and others who were involved with the event in 1978 have been able to turn the tragedy into a positive force in their lives.

By 1979, it was apparent dance marathon had grown beyond the size that its original coordinators had expected. That year, the event was moved from the HUB Ballroom to the White Building to accommodate an increasing number of dancers and spectators.

The increased number of participants translated into higher donations. Jim Adisey, 1979 overall chairman, said a number of organizations competed to be associated with dance marathon.

In the end, the committee officially decided to continue its affiliation with the Four Diamonds Fund, an organization linked to the Penn State community which was in need of financial assistance. The 1978 accident also had an influence on the committee's decision to continue supporting the fund, Adisey said.

"The dance marathon had a huge impact on saving the Four Diamonds Fund," he said.

Dance marathon celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1982, but the event had yet to reach the $100,000 mark. In 1983, that mark was surpassed as dancers brought in more than $130,000 for the Four Diamonds Fund.

In 1985, donations collected totaled more than $200,000. Maury Billig, 1985 IFC president, announced the record-breaking amount at the conclusion of the marathon. And it brought tears to his eyes, Billing said.

That same year, notable entertainment concluded the event. Otis Day and the Knights, the band featured in the movie Animal House, was the final performer at the 1985 dance marathon.

Neil Brem, an independent student, danced in that marathon.

"It was an astounding experience," he said.

The physical impact of dance marathon was one of the things that made the event memorable, Brem said. After dancing for nearly 30 hours friends brought him breakfast from McDonald's.

"By then, my reflexes were slower," he said. When a friend tossed him a container of orange juice, he said, "the thing just burst on my chest."

In the late '80s, dance marathon was an established part of Penn State life, so much so that it warranted a nickname. Since then, dance marathon has been known affectionately as " 'Thon" by those involved with the event.

By 1988, the event had raised more than $1.2 million for the Four Diamonds Fund since the two joined forces in 1977. Donations only continued to grow with the addition of sponsors. Coors became the first corporate sponsor of the marathon in 1989, boosting the amount raised that year to nearly half a million dollars.

Corporate sponsors now account for a large portion of money raised for the Four Diamonds Fund, said Steve Shaffer, 1997 financial chairman.

"The corporate support is more than just money," he said. Organizations donated products and advertising in addition to over $60,000 in cash this year, Shaffer said. And these sponsors also give national exposure to dance marathon, he said.

An additional University sponsor was added to dance marathon in 1990 when Panhellenic Council, a long-time supporter of dance marathon, was officially recognized as co-sponsor of the event.

Students in Kristin and Lanny Sommese's graphic design class began to design the logo created to represent dance marathon in 1991. These logos appear on publications, press releases, T-shirts, mugs and virtually every form of publicity associated with the event. Approximately 12 logos are submitted for the Overall Committee's consideration, Kristin Sommese said. From these entries, the committee chooses three which are further developed and again presented, she said.

"When (the students) start to work with something like this, they start to realize that they can put their talents toward something that can make a difference," Sommese said.

Twenty years after its modest beginning, dance marathon celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1992 and welcomed two additional corporate sponsors -- Master Card and MBNA. The event topped the $1 million mark for the first time with the help of these sponsors. In 1994, dance marathon again raised more than $1 million. Children's Miracle Network became associated with the event that year.

While dance marathon organizers set no formal goal, they expect pledges to make up half of their donations this year, Shaffer said. Another 40 percent will come from canning collections and the rest will be collected from corporate sponsors and at special events such as the mall auction and bookstore promotion.

"The important thing is that each year more and more money is raised," Billig said.

As donations collected each year have steadily grown, so has student and public interest in dance marathon.

"Regardless of their affiliations, they all work together," Alyssa Cherkin said of students who take part in the event. As 1997 overall chairwoman, Cherkin is responsible for pulling together the thousands of people who make up dance marathon.

In the future, Cherkin said she hopes donations will continue to grow and the public will become more informed.

"I see it growing beyond anything we've imagined," she said.

Even the most vivid imagination present at the 1973 marathon could not have fathomed the heights to which dance marathon has risen. Twenty-five years after its inception, dance marathon continues to challenge records and surpass expectations of philanthropies across the nation.