Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series focusing on an independent dancer couple for Thon. This installment focuses on what the pair did to qualify for a dancer spot.

Sometimes they're overlooked, maybe forgotten. Some people don't even know they exist.

There's a small group of dancers -- just 44 couples -- on the floor of the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon that aren't part of a sorority, fraternity or any other campus organization.

They are the independent dancers of Thon.

Katie McCormick (junior-human development and family studies) and Sarah Swaintek (junior-nutrition) are two of those 80 dancers who will dance independently on Thon weekend.

McCormick and Swaintek are not affiliated with any organization and are not guaranteed supporters in the stands. However, they will spend the length of Thon on their feet together and supporting each other.

"We can survive 48 hours together," McCormick said, adding that although Thon has been shortened to 46 hours this year, the duo plans to stay on their feet an additional two hours at home after the event ends.

Thon begins at 6 p.m Friday, Feb. 16 and ends at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18 -- a full 46 hours of dancing. For the first time in Thon history, the Bryce Jordan Center will host the event.

Both McCormick and Swaintek participated in Thon in previous years, but this will be the first year dancing for both of them. Even though McCormick is part of a sorority, she said she went the independent route because there weren't enough positions for her to dance for the group. She said she also thinks it will be easier to have Swaintek with her instead of dancing alone.

"Sororities are fortunate because when you look up in the stands, there's always someone supporting you," McCormick said, although Swaintek quickly added that they've spread the word and are confident they will have a fan base as well.

Just as with other groups, independents are required to raise at least $1,600 to be considered in the lottery to be a Thon dancer. The lottery drawing took place last Thursday, and having raised $6,000 between them, McCormick and Swaintek earned a place in Thon.

Ninety-seven groups, including new organizations and independent couples, raised enough to qualify to be entered in the lottery, said Lena Matternas, Thon rules and regulations chair. The computerized system enters each applicant name a certain number of times based on the amount raised, Megan Kendrick, Thon public relations chairwoman, said. Names are entered once when $1,600 is raised, then additional times for each $500 raised over the minimum. Once a name is drawn, both the winner and partner have a spot on the dance floor.

"I constantly checked my e-mail," Swaintek said about waiting to hear if the pair had been chosen. "I kept thinking, 'when are they going to send it?' "

When they finally heard, she said, they were both excited and relieved to finally know they were official Thon dancers.

McCormick and Swaintek, who met during freshman year when they lived across the hall from each other in Lyons Hall, began fundraising right before Winter Break.

Unlike many Thon dancers, Swaintek and McCormick didn't raise money through weekend canning trips. Instead, they solicited family and friends through e-mail and received the minimum of $1,600 almost instantly.

"It's a very, very easy way to collect because it's almost guaranteed that people in your family have battled cancer," McCormick said. "[The $1,600] was like, literally the first check."

With Thon just nine days away, the pair is doing everything they can for the physical and mental exhaustion that comes with dancing for 48 hours. The first step, which has already been accomplished, was soliciting advice from prior participants. McCormick already knows that while on the dance floor, she needs to keep her feet moving at all times -- keeping the circulation going prevents ankles from swelling, she said.

"I'm going to get new shoes," Swaintek said. "And I'm just talking to people, making sure they know I'll be there [on the floor]."

The pair isn't intimidated by the overall scope of Thon, nor do they think dancers have the hardest job of the weekend -- that honor goes to moralers, McCormick said.

"I know what I'm getting in for," Swaintek said.

Swaintek added that she thinks this will be a huge memory her for, one that probably won't be repeated next year.

"I think you're lucky to dance once," Swaintek said. "I don't want to take away anyone else's chance."