ZOE KIRIAZIS
Special to The Leader
Prepare to put your best dancing shoes on, grab all your friends and come have fun in Steele Hall’s Fieldhouse when the Student Dance Organization will present Fredonia’s first ever Dance-A-Thon. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, Fredonia students and community members can come dance with friends, professors and fellow dancers.
Members of Fredonia Dance Team and Envied Xpression are on the line up for performances. Various a cappella clubs will be performing throughout the night. These student dance clubs will be holding workshops where students can learn different moves. Fredonia’s Zumba enthusiast, Eva Mancarella, will be teaching her workout routines during the night, as well.
“We want people to enjoy themselves at this event,” said senior dance and public relations dual major Nicole Miller, who serves as the public relations representative for SDO. The group’s aim is not only to raise money for an amazing charity, but to demonstrate that anyone can dance.
Miller emphasized that anyone can dance and added that dance is a great way to be moving and having fun with the people you enjoy being with.
SDO is unlike any other dance-focused group on campus. Groups such as Orchesis, Fredonia Dance Team, Step Team, Envied Xpression and others are performance-based and auditioned-based with performances and recitals throughout the semester. Student Dance Organization is the complete opposite. They aim to bring dance education to everyone, from trained dance majors, non-major, and those who are simply passionate about dance. SDO is best known from their annual event Dancing with the Athletes.
All the proceeds from the event will go to the Dizzy Feet Foundation. “The Dizzy Feet Foundation brings dance classes and opportunities to children and communities that don’t have the funds or access to provide dance education,” said Mercedes Smith, president of SDO. The Dizzy Feet Foundation was created by “So You Think You Can Dance” judge Nigel Lythgoe.
Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office in the Williams Center and at the door of the event. Tickets will be $5, which grants you access to all the workshops and performances. With each ticket, you will receive a Dance-A-Thon bracelet. There will be raffle baskets, a shout out station, music sponsored by Fredonia Radio Systems and plenty of dancing to go around.