Almost 1,000 people participated in this weekend’s third annual Stanford Dance Marathon — a 24-hour fundraising party that took place at the Arrillaga Alumni Center from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday.

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John Laxson

Students danced the night away at Dance Marathon. The event raised over $150,800 for Partners in Health

Enlarge
#gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/6868
John Laxson

Students danced the night away at Dance Marathon. The event raised over $150,800 for Partners in Health

Enlarge
#gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/6869
John Laxson

Students danced the night away at Dance Marathon. The event raised over $150,800 for Partners in Health

More than 940 dancers tried to remain on their feet for a full day in an effort to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

This year’s event teamed up with Partners in Health (PIH) — a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare to some of the world’s poorest communities — to raise $150,893.62, smashing the organizers’ goal of $100,000 and almost tripling the $58,000 raised by last year’s party.

FACE AIDS, a student-run campaign designed to promote awareness about HIV/AIDS in Africa, contributed an additional $60,000, increasing the total for the event to $210,000. The money will go to support health clinics in Rwanda recently set up by PIH.

More than three times the number of dancers had registered for this year’s edition of Dance Marathon (940) than had last year (300). The event’s organizers also tried to increase community involvement by encouraging local families to participate in the party, which coincidentally fell on Family Day.

In addition, a number of students from Santa Clara and Touro Universitites signed up for the event.

By most accounts, this year’s dance was a huge success.

“It’s awesome; I love dancing,” said Nikil Viswanathan ‘10. “It always feels like right when you are in the heat of the dance, it usually ends. But this one keeps going. And it is even more special and awesome because I am with all of my best friends and my dorm.”

Participants also were grateful for the support of “moralers,” who helped keep the weary dancers inspired and awake.

“It is a constant flow of energy which keeps everyone going,” said Team Branner leader Kyla Barr ‘10. “It’s nice because every three hours moralers come in, and it gets everyone’s energy back up so it’s not a slump.”

Moralers and dancers alike were required to raise money for HIV/AIDS awareness in order to participate in the event. Each dancer pledged to raise at least $140, enough to pay for one year’s worth of anti-retroviral treatment for one patient. Moralers pledged to raise at least $35. Dance Marathon also obtained funding from corporate sponsors, including Apple and Kaplan.

“I think that [sponsors] get encouraged that students are the ones getting involved and taking the initiative,” Barr said. “We are actually doing something rather than just voicing our opinion through student groups and writing letters. It’s not just about raising money for AIDS. It’s about realizing the bigger picture and voicing what you believe should be done about the problem.”

The party’s organizers were thrilled with the turnout and commitment at this year’s event, and said they were hopeful that the fundraiser was successful in spreading awareness about the problems associated with HIV/AIDS.

“I think it was really successful in terms of a new level of professionalism and doing new things,” said Dance Marathon co-Chair Tory Kauer ‘08. “People’s energy level was just awesome [...] we had a lot of people do all 24 hours. We wanted to introduce students to social activism through dancing and connecting with a cause.”

Despite their exhaustion, most dancers remained enthusiastic after the event.

“You are really tired,” said Philip Hon ‘10. “Your feet hurt. But it’s all worth it.”