The Northwestern University Dance Marathon (also known as NUDM) is a philanthropic dance marathon held annually at Northwestern University. Currently in its 38th year, NUDM is one of the world's largest student-run philanthropies. As a strong campus tradition, Dance Marathon, or DM, brings together over 1,500 students, faculty, staff, and administrators in a thirty hour dance-a-thon. Students, serving as either dancers or committee members, fundraise all year to support its beneficiaries, culminating in an all-campus celebration weekend in the beginning of March. In addition to DM weekend, special events occur throughout the entire year, such as a cooking competition, a basketball tournament, and trivia nights. Each dancer pair raises at least $800 for the honor of dancing. About 400 committee members assist in the planning and execution of DM and related events.
To maintain the morale of the dancers, campus a cappella groups, dance troupes, and student bands visit Dance Marathon to perform. Before sunrise on Saturday morning, dancers are treated to a quick foot massage to help reenergize them to finish the day. In other areas of the Norris University Center DM hosts events for all Northwestern students and community visitors to enjoy during the weekend, such as a Spa, a 5k/10k run, and a Kid's Fair hosted by Northwestern student groups.
Each year DM selects a primary and secondary beneficiary to receive the money collected after months of fundraising and 30 hours of dancing. During DM, spectators visit the Norris University Center at Northwestern University, where DM takes place, to support the dancers and to take part in events such as a DM Spa and a 5K run. These events are planned to involve community members from Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois and nearby communities in DM. This community involvement fulfills DM's mission of uniting the Northwestern University campus and the nearby communities thorough education and philanthropic fundraising.
Read more about Northwestern University Dance Marathon: History, Beneficiaries
Famous quotes containing the words university, dance and/or marathon:
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
—Slogan by Czech university students in Prague, November 1989. quoted in Observer (London, Nov. 26, 1989)
“When we were at school we were taught to sing the songs of the Europeans. How many of us were taught the songs of the Wanyamwezi or of the Wahehe? Many of us have learnt to dance the rumba, or the cha cha, to rock and roll and to twist and even to dance the waltz and foxtrot. But how many of us can dance, or have even heard of the gombe sugu, the mangala, nyang’umumi, kiduo, or lele mama?”
—Julius K. Nyerere (b. 1922)
“The mountains look on Marathon—
And Marathon looks on the sea;
And musing there an hour alone,
I dreamed that Greece might still be free;
For standing on the Persians’ grave,
I could not deem myself a slave.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)