The 47th annual Northwestern University Dance Marathon raised over $674,000 this weekend on behalf of Compass to Care, a Chicago nonprofit providing travel assistance for children in need of cancer treatment, and Evanston Community Foundation.
Instead of dancing in a tent outside Norris University Center, students engaged in a three-day event on event technology platform Hopin. Programming included a trivia night, yoga class and a performance by Chicago-based improvisational theater troupe The Second City.
Despite the differences in setting, the essence of the celebratory weekend remained, Cady De Camara, a Weinberg junior and NUDM productions co-chair, said.
“It’s hard to replicate the magic of everybody being in one space, but we knew that we could give people an experience that was still worth looking forward to and tuning into,” De Camara said.
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Sun-Times file
For decades, Northwestern University students have held an annual dance marathon to raise money for charity.
But now that 30-hour event has become the latest group gathering forced to transition to a virtual format by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
With no time to adjust for COVID-19 last year, NU’s Dance Marathon was abruptly canceled.
This year, three days of virtual events will kick off March 3. They will include a trivia night, virtual yoga classes, guest speakers and a workshop from The Second City Training Center.
MCs will introduce speakers, dance and do donation challenges. According to Jillian Korey, marathon co-chair, the events will be a mixture of Zoom meetings, live streaming from a stage and other webinars.
Annual Dance Marathon fundraiser to be held in March, mainly virtually
January 21, 2021
Northwestern University Dance Marathon will run a mainly virtual “Weekend Of” event from March 3 to 6 in place of the annual “NUDM 30 Hours” fundraiser.
According to SESP senior and NUDM Productions Co-Chair Jillian Korey, the fundraiser will include a mix of interactive activities and music and dance performances. Korey said it will be mostly conducted via Zoom, although NUDM organizers are currently discussing hybrid options with NU’s COVID-19 Task Force.
“Our goal for this event is to still bring the community together in a joyous celebration of our fundraising efforts throughout the year,” Korey said.