Matthew Zellner has had butterflies in his stomach this week.
“It’s like you’re at the beginning of a race,” the Communication sophomore said.
Zellner is preparing to participate in Dance Marathon, a 30-hour charity event, this weekend, and he said he won’t do what he did last year.
“I stayed up late the night before writing a paper,” he said. “It’s surprising how fast it comes around.”
Some members of the DM executive board said they have a similar feeling.
Dancer relations committee co-Chairman and Weinberg senior Jason Catanese said although it’s hard to believe it has arrived, board members are “feeling really good” about the weekend-long event, which invites NU students to dance for 30 consecutive hours to support beneficiaries The Children’s Heart Foundation and the Evanston Community Foundation.
Although pre-registration for DM has concluded, Catanese said he is unsure how many dancers are expected to participate this weekend.
“This is the culmination of what we’ve been working toward all year,” Catanese said. “It’s like waiting for Christmas when you’re a little kid.”
Dancers received informational packets about how to prepare for the event at a “Dancer Kickoff” meeting Feb. 23 in Leverone Hall. About 300 students attended.
At the meeting, members of the DM executive board gave suggestions about how to best use the last few days before the event: sleeping, exercising, cutting out caffeine and nicotine, getting ahead in classes and fundraising.
“Even though full money deadline passed, all the money you raise in the next eight days still goes to our incredible beneficiaries,” said Medill senior Rachel Schneider, the dancer relations committee co-chair, during the meeting.
Dancers also received information about the medical services available to them during DM and instructions about what to bring. NUDM’s staff does not distribute over-the-counter medications, but medical help will be available to dancers.
For a $5 entrance fee, non-dancers may attend the event during “visiting hours,” which are 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. on March 4 and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on March 5, Catanese said.
In the final hours before DM begins, Catanese said dancers should be “getting excited about Dance Marathon.”
“There’s a lot of buzz,” he said. “It’s a really exciting time.”
He also suggested preparing costumes, headbands and accessories to wear throughout the weekend, not to mention deodorant.
“Everyone will thank you,” he said during the kickoff meeting. “You don’t want to be ‘that guy.'”
Zellner had some suggestions for fellow dancers.
“Don’t drink coffee,” he said. “You crash after the first block, and you feel terrible.”
SESP junior Eli Cadoff said he also participated in DM last year after and will do things differently this time around.
He said the best advice he’s heard came from a friend, who suggested a moratorium on complaining during the 30 dance-intensive hours.
Zellner said he’s using some self-motivational techniques.
“Right now I’m back to where I was last year, trying to convince myself it’ll be a good time,” he said. “It’s bad, but it’s not that bad.”
Weinberg freshman Jonathan Kernes said while he’s been exercising and increasing his amount of sleep throughout the week to prepare, he’s “thinking it’s really not going to be fun at all.”
“It’s not operated to be a social event,” he said, “but it’s an experience you’ll look back on and appreciate after, as opposed to when you’re actually getting it done.”
