After spending 24 hours on her feet, Dance Marathoner and third-year Commerce student Katrina Conley didn't show it. Standing in the middle of a black tarp and poster-covered Memorial Gym, she smiled widely and observed the festivities around her.
Conley was one of the 50 or so marathoners who had made it to the end of the challenge.
The last two hours of Dance Marathon yesterday celebrated the program's past and present success. Families who have benefited from Dance Marathon's contribution to the University Hospital's Neo-Intensive Care Unit arrived at 2 p.m. and spent the last two hours of the event with the students.
Healthy toddlers who were once residents of the NICU dashed about the room with amounts of energy rarely seen around Grounds on a typical sleepy Sunday afternoon.
As Disney movie theme music danced out of speakers, young children of varied ages scampered through a maze of adult and student bystanders. In the center of the toy and balloon filled dance floor was a large circle of rainbow colored parachute fabric. Dance Marathoners sat around the edges and moved the fabric, creating "waves" for the exuberant kids who giggled contagiously in the center.
Even though she'd been up all night, Conley said she was able to enjoy the moment. "You have little spurts when you're tired, but seeing the kids makes it all worthwhile," she said.
Gazing down at Ryan, a tiny 16-month old wearing doll-sized wire-rimmed glasses, Conley reminisced about her fondest memories from the night.
"Kids like him will be my favorite memories," Conley said.
Ryan's father, a speaker at the finale of Dance Marathon, expressed her gratitude and support of the program. "It's great that so many young people make such an effort to help others in the Charlottesville community," Ryan's father said.
Dance Marathon organizers estimated the event's final monetary count to be over $115,000 -- capping last year's total of $112,000.
With their successes in mind, this year's participants can rest easy, as they will need to after a sleepless, yet satisfying night.
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