2011 DM Summary

Dance Marathon February 11-13, 2011

Overview: Dance Marathon is a philanthropic organization, which benefits the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN). Dance Marathon hosts a 40‐hour event where teams and individuals dance in two 20‐hour shifts. Each year thousands of Florida State University (FSU) students dedicate their time and energy to help raise awareness and money for CMN. In addition to raising money and awareness, teams also participate for “team points.” These points are used to award the “winner” or team who raised the most money and had the most dancer participation.

This year Dance Marathon took place on February 11‐13, 2011 in the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center and raised $496,162.78.

Dance Marathon programming consists of all night dancing, along with many other games and activities to keep the students’ energy and excitement level high. This year we wanted to obtain the perspectives of everyone involved; from the dancers on Friday or Saturday, committee members’, and the leadership team.

Due to the success of the two 20‐hour shifts at last year’s DM, we kept the format again this year.

At each shift there were about 750 dancers. There were also about 450 committee members that helped to plan and run DM. We wanted to obtain a snap shot of dancer and committee members’ experiences with dance marathon so we created 3 surveys: a committee member, Friday dancers, and Saturday dancers. Through this method of surveying we received various responses from three different perspectives of dance marathon. Of the 1,500 Dancers who participated, 25% of them completed the survey. The majority of Dancers (97%) at both shifts who responded reported they enjoyed their experience with Dance Marathon (DM) and had fun.

Highlights:

Below are tables and figures that show what respondents gained from DM and enjoyed the most.

Favorite…

Food Choice1 Morale Game Entertainment Theme Hours

Friday Dancers Piggy’s BBQ (15%) Ships & Sailors (24%) FSU Flying High Circus (25%) 80’s Workout (13%)

Saturday Dancers Aramark (16%) Ships & Sailors (29%) Alpha Phi Alpha Step Show (48%) 80’s Workout (18%)

Least Favorite…

Food Choice1 Morale Game Entertainment Theme Hours

Friday Dancers Wesley Foundation’s burgers & dogs (13%) Twister and Rubik’s Cube Competition (8%)* Fashion Inc. Fashion Show (26%) Twilight Vs. Harry Potter (13%)

Saturday Dancers Wesley Foundations’ burgers & dogs (25%) Name that State (15%) Acabelles (20%) Twilight Vs. Harry Potter (28%)

1. Of the Friday Dancers who responded to the survey 39% said they would eat at their favorite vendor more often in the future; 56% of Saturday dancers said the same * Twister and Rubik’s Cube Competition were tied for least favorite among Friday dancers.

Recommendations & Conclusion:    

Reduce committee size: many committee chairs and members reported they felt not needed and had very little to do.

Work on dancer recruitment by targeting freshman, dancer education, and advertising using positive experiences of past dancers.

Add a wider variety of healthy snacks, vegan, and vegetarian options. Also ration food so everyone can have the same amount to eat.

Add more water stations to keep dancers hydrated.

Overall, Dance Marathon continues to be one of the most successful philanthropies put on by the Oglesby Union. Over 50% of both Friday and Saturday Dancers reported that their most favorite part of the 2011 Dance Marathon was the line dance; which is a way to build community and keep students energized throughout the event. This year’s Dance Marathon had the most number of students ever to participate. Dance Marathon also was able to raise close to a half million dollars ($496,162.78). Participants in Dance Marathon continue to want to participate (85%) and feel like they are making a positive contribution (97%) to the Children’s Miracle Network.