'U' dancers raise $30,000 for children

"Keep on dancing!"

That's what eight-year-old Allison Lawrence told a crowd of hundreds of participants and volunteers in the first-ever University of Michigan Dance Marathon, held this past weekend in the Indoor Track and Tennis Building.

The 30-hour fundraising event raised $30,000 to benefit the Children's Miracle Network and Beaumont Hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy.

"Allison came home from the hospital unable to walk, and we went to therapy for almost 20 months," said Beth Lawrence, Allison's mother, who addressed the gathering. "She's doing wonderful, and we have CMN to thank for that. This is what all your hard work and enthusiasm is for. We are so proud to be a part of this."

LOUIS BROWN/Daily LSA sophomore Evan Myers plays a game with Tyler Fleming and Allison Lawrence, two of the children who will benefit from the money raised last weekend.

To participate in the marathon, dancers raised a minimum $230, either individually, or as a representative of a group.

Of the 73 dancers who began the marathon Saturday morning, 70 were still standing yesterday afternoon.

"This just doesn't happen at Michigan," said Mike Ingber, assistant director of Dance Marathon. "To bring together athletes, engineers (and) literature students to something like this, for such a worthy cause - for kids. That is just awesome"

While many dancers said they felt tired during the marathon, they insisted that the great cause gave them the energy to continue.

"I feel a bit fatigued, but the sight of the children and moral supporters is keeping me alive and fresh," said LSA senior D.J. Silton. "This is an event that any student on campus can do."

The LSA student government sponsored LSA first-year student Amie Yang for the dance marathon.

"I'm here because I like helping people out, and I love kids," Yang said. "The only hard part has been staying awake."

CMN helped Allison, whose heart stopped for 41 minutes when she was three years old. Intense speech and occupational therapy have given Alison a new lease on life.

The sight of the children playing and laughing made many of the participants emotional.

"You almost feel like crying," said Engineering senior Sridhar Kaza. "When you see the children, it's so dramatic. CMN makes a such a difference in their lives."

Food, music, games and other entertainment was provided for the dancers. Volunteer "moralers" gave physical and emotional support to the dancers in the form of back massages and encouraging words.

University President Lee Bollinger, the entire men's gymnastics team and two hockey players stopped by to give their support.

The event was modeled after the original Dance Marathon held annually at Penn State University. Penn State's Dance Marathon, which began more than 25 years ago, has raised up to $1.5 million, said Inder Singh, executive director of the University's Marathon.

"We had a lot of skeptics say to us that we wouldn't get anyone sober to pledge themselves for 30 hours," said LSA first-year student Vikram Sarma, the dancer relations chair for the marathon. "But we are by far the best first-year Dance Marathon."

To keep participants motivated, the dancers learned a new part of a 14-minute line dance each hour. The participants performed the full dance number at the end of the event.

"My favorite part has been the line dance," said moraler Jeff Gutman, an LSA senior. "It's a medley of a bunch of different songs and everyone really gets into it. It shows everyone's excitement and support of the event."

No watches were allowed in the arena so that participants did not know how much longer they had to stand. LSA first-year student Lauren Greenlee said the time was never a problem.

"This has definitely been one of the best weekends I've ever had," Greenlee said. "I've already signed up for the planning committee for next year."

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