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Rutgers University Dance Marathon changes format, moves Club DM to fall semester

The Rutgers University Dance Marathon will see changes to its format to avoid overfilling the Rutgers Athletic Center. Organizers are also dropping Club DM from the main event for the same reasons. – Photo by Edwin Gano

In three months, Rutgers students will be dancing along to a University tradition that dates back to the 1990s.

But this year, Dance Marathon will have a different format, said Alex Thesing, director of Entertainment for RUDM and a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences senior, in an email to The Daily Targum.

Capacity issues have forced RUDM to be split into two 12-hour sessions, rather than the one-day 30-hour model used in recent past years, Thesing said.

“While it is true that the fire safety capacity for the Rutgers Athletic Center is well above the number of participants from last year’s marathon, the capacity for us to run the event was pushed to the limit,” he said.

By splitting the weekend into two sessions, Thesing said RUDM coordinators can avoid capping the number of dancers admitted to the event.

The change also allows RUDM to become more accessible to participants, who can choose between either Friday or Saturday to dance. Seniors will be allowed to participate in both sessions during this transition year, Thesing said.

“(This model) has proven to be extremely successful through this point,” Thesing said.

Club DM has also been removed from the Weekend Marathon and will instead occur during the fall semester as a standalone event. Thesing said RUDM coordinators hope the change will increase awareness for RUDM in the fall.

The change did not occur due to Club DM’s cost.

“While it is true that Club DM has typically been one of the more expensive events, us moving it to the fall incurred the same costs as there would have been if the event took place during Marathon Weekend,” Thesing said.

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Avalon Zoppo is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore majoring in political science. She is the managing editor of The Daily Targum. Find her on Twitter @avalonzoppo.


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