We've got to hold on to what we've got

By Diana Samuels

At 9:50, dancers flood out of the Louis Room, emerging into the hallway and collapsing. Those who were near the doors get out first and claim spots along the wall. They lay with their heads in the aisles and their feet propped up on the cement hallway walls of Norris. Once the prime spots along the wall are taken, dancers just crumple in the middle of the aisles. Walking down the aisle is an obstacle course, a maze of people’s heads and feet. None of those sleeping in the aisles seem to notice as volunteers step over their heads, handing out cups of yellow and orange Gatorade. Volunteers take advantage of the empty Louis Room to sweep and mop the floor.

During the break many head back to the Michigan and Northwestern rooms, where they’ve been keeping the bags they brought with them. You can’t see the floor in those rooms, between the bags and the people lying on top of them.

“Three and a half minutes! Woooo!” yells a committee member as she bounds down the hall between the sleeping dancers. A few moments later, another volunteer walks down the hall, calling out, “One minute left! Let’s get up on those dead feet!”

The dancers groan as they sit up. The volunteers have all the dancers file through a single door. More committee members wait inside, forming a tunnel, and they clap as the dancers head back into the room, “Get Ready for This” pounding.

The dancers seem reenergized after the break. One group huddles around a DM video camera, cheering and making faces. “Ladies and gentlemen, are we here to party?” one of the emcees calls out.

The clock reaches 10:00 a.m., fifteen hours through the thirty-hour marathon. The emcees announced that they’ve reached the halfway point, and dancers cheer and hug each other. Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” starts playing, and everyone shouts the chorus.

“Whooah, we’re halfway there/Livin’ on a prayer/Take my hand and we’ll make it – I swear/Livin’ on a prayer.”

A group of guys throw their arms around each other’s shoulders and sway as they sing. Dance Marathon executive board members are crowded up on the stage, closing their eyes, lifting their heads up to the ceiling and screaming at the top of their lungs, genuinely thrilled to be there. DM Co-chairs Ben Woo and Cecilia Byrne high-five and hug at the end of the song.

“The hardest part is behind us,” Woo tells the dancers. “Now is the fun part, guys, we’re almost there.”

Photos by Lauren Pond (above) and Chris Danzig (below)