Dancers struggle with hygiene

By Anne Kovacs
Collegian Staff Writer

The aroma from a gymnasium filled with 680 dancers for 48 hours could be unpleasant, making personal hygiene a focus of many dancers and event coordinators.

Jason Salus (senior-finance) is one Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon dancer who took extra precautions to ensure a clean and healthy weekend.

Preparing to relive one of his most rewarding experiences at Penn State, two-time dancer Salus laid out his weekend supplies on his bed — a blue duffel bag, four pairs of boxers, and a travel bag filled with toiletries and other clothing.

Understanding he is going to be in a gymnasium for two days without showering, Salus made sure he would have enough clean clothes and toiletries to last him throughout the event.

From past experience Salus knew changing clothes often helps the dancer feel revived. He lifted up a plastic bag filled with 15 pairs of socks, added them to his bag and smiled.

Changing socks is vital to foot health because, as Salus said, "New socks equal new feet."

As an extra sanitary measure, Salus packed two extra bags to separate dirty laundry and wet towels from the rest of the items in his bag.

At the event, dancers such as Joel Baldwin (junior-art education) coped with the conditions by following strict cleaning routines.

Scrubbing up in the sink, refreshing with Gold Bond powder, brushing teeth after every meal and washing hands before eating are some of the ways to maintain cleanliness, Baldwin said.

In addition, the dancers were assigned to lockers this year instead of the wooden cubbies used in previous years. The lockers are twice as big and provided hooks for the dancers to hang damp towels, said Jennifer Doebler (senior-secondary education English), overall chair of the operations committee.

Tracy Mathe (junior-biobehavioral health) associated good hygiene with a positive attitude.

"Simply washing my face and brushing my teeth made a world of difference," Mathe said.