Cheered on by his teammates, dancer Jason Held slowly aimed and fired a Ping-Pong ball into a six-cup formation.

He nailed the shot, and his opponent had to chug the red cup of jello.

"It's just like being out on a Friday night," Held (junior-elementary education) said.

Jello pong was just one of the events at the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon's four theme hours. Throughout the 48 hours, the themes displayed around Rec Hall included "Seasons," "A Very Merry Unbirthday," "Old McDonald's Farm" and "Travel the World."

"[Theme hours are] a way to get the dancers' minds off the fact that they are tired and their feet hurt," Carol Phillips, pink team morale captain, said.

Co-captain Erica Foley said the team planned for about 400 dancers to participate.

"We know that not everyone wants to join in, and that's OK," she said. "The hardest part is getting as many dancers involved as we can."

Each different theme hour had a separate set of crafts and games to distract the dancers.

During the "Very Merry Unbirthday" hour, dancers relaxed with games from the past and present.

Moraler Chad Pace (sophomore-philosophy and history) shared the secret of the skeeball game to a group of dancers armed with plastic balls.

"The middle holes are the hardest," he said. "It's not a science -- it's more of an art."

Other games included Twister, the Hokey Pokey and Seven Minutes in Heaven -- which, for the dancers, included a back massage from a willing moraler.

During the "Seasons" theme hour, dancers and moralers enjoyed the Halloween Haunted Hallway. Participants stuck their hands in mysterious boxes on the long table to feel "human body parts," which were made from spaghetti and jello. The "Old McDonald's Farm" theme hour included beanbag games and the Chicken Dance. Cutouts of barns and horses were set up underneath the tables at a child's eye level.

Silver team morale captain Julie Miller said her favorite theme activity was the build-your-own aquarium out of a Styrofoam plate, Easter grass and fish cutouts. "It's creative and easily done," she said.

The majority of dancers said they enjoyed the distraction theme hours provide.

"It's an easy thing for a moraler to do, so their dancer is not standing there thinking about their feet," moraler Kerri O'Rourke (sophomore-psychology) said as she rubbed her dancer's shoulders.

The dancer, Genevieve Evans (sophomore-communications) accepted the favor easily. "I enjoy the nice interaction," she said. "Especially this one, because I am getting a massage."

Collegian staff writers Megan Rundle and Tia Bochnakova contributed to this report.