Group will lead participants
The 66 members of the 2014 Dance Marathon morale team were announced on Monday after going through an online application process and interviews.
The morale team serves to motivate dancers at the annual philanthropy event, as well as encourage participation throughout the year and inform students about the event itself and the causes it supports.
“Their primary purpose is to help get people excited about Dance Marathon and keeping everyone’s spirits lifted and keep morale high throughout the event,” said Dance Marathon’s public relations director, Leslie Knight. “Everyone loves the morale team because that’s who’s very visible at the event.”
The team also serves to keep the hundreds of dancers on their feet at the event that’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.
“Morale is a huge part of Dance Marathon, and it’s their job to make sure everyone is energized and ready to rock and roll,” said head morale captain Kaitlyn Daley.
The morale team is responsible for helping with events leading up to the Dance Marathon as well as the marathon itself. The newly selected team members will participate in Dance Marathon’s FT5K, a race that also benefits Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network.
“A lot of people think it’s just a lot of dancing and that’s it and they don’t want to do it, but it’s a lot more than that,” said morale captain Lauren Carpenter. “We are the people that keep people motivated during Dance Marathon and get the organization out on campus. We’re like the face of Dance Marathon.”
Morale hopefuls were required to first apply online and, for the first time ever, post a video on YouTube describing why they would be a great asset to the morale team and what Dance Marathon means to them.
“This year we really wanted to give people an opportunity to show off their personalities, and it really paid off. We loved all of the videos we received, and it was really hard to choose who to interview,” Daley said.
Applicants who possessed the characteristics the Dance Marathon executive board was looking for, such as passion, energy and dedication were selected to move on to an interview with Daley, Carpenter and Director of Morale Lachlan Medley.
“The main thing is having a passion for what we do,” Knight said. “They have to be excited when talking about it, and we have to see that spark that makes you want to become a part of Dance Marathon.”
The Dance Marathon executive board received between 80 and 90 applications this year, which is fewer than in previous years. Carpenter attributed this change to the video requirement.
“[The video] kind of weeded out the people who wouldn’t commit or be beneficial,” Carpenter said.
The leaders of the morale team plan to emphasize the bond within the group this year even more than in the past. The morale team works together to choreograph a line dance for Dance Marathon that they teach to the participants each year. Last year’s dance clocked in at more than 13 minutes.
“One of the biggest things we want to work on this year is to create more of a family within morale and to really work on, at the main event and leading up to the event, to create a relationship,” Daley said.
Many members of the morale team have had previous experience with Dance Marathon either as dancers or as morale team members, and they believed that it was an event worth participating in again.
“I did [morale team] last year, and it was just a lot of fun doing the other side and doing it with people who all want to be there, and it’s such a great cause,” morale team member Ginny Rice said. “It’s just one of my favorite days of the whole year, because it’s so great to see everyone come together for 24 hours for one cause.”