Sunday night, the wait was over and the new Dance Marathon emcees were finally announced. Spunky, passionate and casually quirky, Communication junior Ashley Thompson and Communication senior Ned Baker are certainly a pair to remember. Thompson and Baker will be in charge of keeping up the morale of all 1,300 registered dancers for the entire 30 hours of Northwestern’s 38th Dance Marathon, set to take place March 2-4.
The Current: First of all, how does it feel to be the 2012 DM emcees?!
Ashley Thompson: Amazing.
Ned Baker: We were very surprised tonight. We were ambushed by the entire exec board who was enthusiastically cheering for us, and that was a huge, huge feeling.
The Current: Why did you want to be a DM emcee?
AT: I wanted to do DM so, so badly my freshman year. I was on the Theta team and had to drop last minute because of my show. Last year, I did Dancer Relations. Just realizing that you are that person keeping those dancers going, keeping those kids going out there, I wanted to do that on the macro level, the biggest DR person there is. And that’s the emcees. We’re in charge of keeping this marathon running and it’s all for those kid., I just think that’s the greatest honor.
NB: Benevolently, I think that it is such a beautiful organization that makes me cry when I think about it. It’s so great. Selfishly, it’s like so much fun. It’s one of the most fun memories of my freshman year. Also, specifically for emcees, I really jive on getting to be in a position where you get to feed off of the energy of 1,300 people. That’s just a huge high, the getting it and giving it back is really something that juices me. I love that.
The Current: What is your previous experience with Dance Marathon?
NB: I was a dancer my freshman year. Since then, I’ve been busy. I have been working on productions the weekends of Dance Marathon my sophomore and junior year, but I have visited. So I have danced for an hour or two hours every year since then, but that was my one 30-hour experience.
AT: Freshman year, I was involved in a show and couldn’t do it, but last year I was on Dancer Relations, so I did the 30-hour thing and pumping up the dancers and this was one step up in energy level. I don’t know what to do next year!
The Current: How do you describe the group dynamic on this team?
NB: I would say we are both seriously crazy in sometimes similar but different ways so that we both cover the whole spectrum of crazy.
AT: We also cover the scale of not crazy by doing that.
NB: But one of us is always there to keep the other one from floating off into the ether.
AT: Which could very easily happen.
The Current: How are you going to prepare for these 30 long hours of emceeing?
AT: We’re gonna have to start working out. I’m not gonna lie, this is gonna be like boot camp. I’m probably going to have to give up caffeine, forever.
NB: I don’t drink any caffeine. I definitely am not as in good shape as I was my freshman year so I think I need to start working out or something.
AT: I need to learn how to run.
NB: I also probably need to listen to the radio.
AT: Learn some pop music. I’m a country music fan, as my Tim McGraw shirt might say, and the rare amount of times they play country.
NB: I’m always super up and super well versed on pop music from like six months previously, so I just gotta get current and figure out what the hip kids is listening to these days.
The Current: You guys are basically going to be famous. The DM dancers are going to feel like they know you by the end of the experience.
AT: We’re going to have 1,300 new best friends!
NB: I would do my best to actually know as many people as possible.
AT: That’s a challenge, all 1,300 dancers; we will learn your names.
NB: If I could learn the names by the end, I would be so proud. No, if I can get the faces that’ll be good. I want to actually meet the people out there.
