Looking for something to do this Friday night? Grab your dance partner and head to the REC/ IM for an evening of dancing hosted by the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
Actually, make that an entire night of dancing.
Dubbed “Dance the Night Away,” the event is an all-night dance marathon created to challenge the dance moves and endurance of some of Eastern Michigan University’s bravest night-owls, while raising money for charity.
The dance party kicks off this Friday at 5 p.m., and the music doesn’t stop until the sun comes up.
The rules are simple: Participants must be constantly moving the entire time, whether busting-a-move or doing the popular head-nod-shuffle. At the end of the night the last dancer (or couple) remaining will win two $100 gift cards.
A mandatory hour-long break will be taken at 11, and each dancer will be given two 15-minute passes in order to use the bathroom, get something to eat or give his or her feet a rest.
As the night goes on the hosts will keep things interesting with a series of contests and games.
“There are side prizes, so if you show up and decide you want to participate you can’t compete for the grand prize for dancing the longest, but we’re going to have side-prizes for like the best-dressed [and] craziest socks,” said Brittany Graham, president of Membership Development for Alpha Gamma Delta.
For another contest the group will play a specific song, like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and the dancer who does the best version of the dance will win the prize.
If you’re not feeling up to getting down, spectators are encouraged to come and support the dancers. Admission for those who aren’t dancing is one non-perishable canned good, which will be donated to the SOS Community Center in Ypsilanti.
Besides the main event there will be Henna tattoos, caricatures, face painting, corn hole and other entertainment for everyone not getting his or her groove on.
Registration costs $10 per individual or couple, and all of the money raised will go to help the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“This is the first [year], but we’re hoping it will become an annual event,” Graham said. “This is kind of like the jump-start year, and we hope that this year people say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry I missed that,’ and come next year.”
To register visit the group’s Facebook page, stop by their registration table in the Student Center today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or stop by the sorority’s house located on Forest street near the Pease Auditorium parking lot. Registration forms will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. today.
Participants are asked to arrive at the REC at 4:30 p.m. on Friday for check-in. AGD asks dancers leave their high-heel shoes at home and instead wear tennis shoes or socks. They would also like to remind all participants this is a substance-free event.
