Southern Regional's Annual Dance Marathon

Post date:March 27, 2023

by Peter Wolff

The year 1929 was a historic year for the United States for it marked the start of the Great Depression. Over the course of the 20 year period, a total of approximately 12,830,000 people experienced the effects of mass layoffs and turned to odd jobs that were often fatal in order to maintain a source of income. This lifestyle, as the name suggests, was very wearing and depressing for those that were stuck in the never ending cycle of unemployment. In order to ease this pain, many facilities organized marathons where people who did not have sufficient enough funds could maintain a shelter, de-stress and have catered food delivered directly to them. Over the course of the 50 years that followed the depression, the concept of a dance marathon only continued to grow in both attendance and artistic design. One of the biggest alterations of the late 20th century dance marathons was the addition of a fundraising goal for dancers to reach. As the dance went on, spectators would be able to donate an allotted sum of cash to a charity of the event organizers choice. The concept was simple, the longer you danced, the more money you raised. In 2014, Southern Regional High School’s Key Club and Student Council decided to join in on the fun and introduced the 18 hour long weekend event filled with drinks, food and live performances. 

During the 2023 edition of the dance marathon, there was an overlapping theme of Hollywood, California. The event had a mini golf course, giant Scrabble, giant UNO, 2 ping pong tables, Spike Ball nets and 3 televisions with different gaming consoles of which included an XBox and Nintendo Switch.

If you are more of the competitive type and less of a person who enjoys casual games, the dance marathon had several competitions of which included a knock out tournament, a mini golf tournament, a kahoot tournament and an improv tournament. The winner of these competitions was then able to retrieve a prize from the prize table which included signed pictures from famous athletes as well as gift certificates for those who are not intrigued by sports. 

This year, the marathon featured an escape room where students were allotted 45 minutes and a maximum of 10 students in order to solve the case of the murder of a Hollywood star. The tables were littered with newspaper clippings and featured several interactive objects as well as red herrings. The team which solved the murder mystery the fastest was then awarded prizes of their choice. 

The 2023 dance marathon also had a wide variety of food and drinks for dancers to select from. There were various flavors of gatorade, water and lemonade in the drinks section to quench the thirst of the participants as well as chicken wings, pizza, Olive Garden, Rita’s and cookies among other food products to fill up those involved. 

This year, a total of 6,267 dollars were raised towards those with cancer. Not only is the dance marathon fun, but all of its proceeds go towards those in need. All it takes is a 25 dollar registration fee via donation in order to become a participant in the event. It is a night jam packed with activities for every type of person. Make an effort to attend next year as it will be a night you will not want to miss.