On Saturday, Brandeis hosted its first-ever dance marathon, joining forces with the Children's Miracle Network to raise money for the Children's Hospital Boston. The event was held in the Levin Ballroom, from 6 p.m. to midnight. Full of high-energy dancing, raffle prizes and great performances, 6 hours seemed to fly by. The most poignant part of the night occurred when two families whose lives were touched by the Children's Hospital of Boston came forward to tell their stories. Both families had come to Boston from Mexico after difficulties diagnosing their children. Both were directed to the Children's Hospital of Boston in order to have a better chance of curing them. It was a moving part of the night-their stories were depicted through pictures and film testaments, but it was when they showed their children's incredible progress that the significance of their struggles hit home. In the end, the families said it was only because of the Children's Hospital of Boston, the donations given to their research departments by organizations and funds raised through events like Brandeis' Dance Marathon that help give happy endings to their stories.

When the time came to dance, the coordinators from the Adagio Dance Company brought great energy and wonderful performers to help keep the spirits high and the bodies swaying on the dance floor. The Adagio members started off with a short performance and danced to a remix of some recent popular songs, followed by a group dance lesson to keep the participation high. Throughout the night, the atmosphere was relaxed and fun. People played Twister, made arts and crafts and got their faces painted. Participants were also able to enjoy a slice of the 30 pizzas donated by Cappy's Pizza & Subs until more performers came to pump up the atmosphere.

First, there was a fast, kinetic dance by the African Dance Club. There were no melodies to accompany the steps, but it goes to show that one only needs a great beat to get people up and dancing. Afterward, the club taught their dance to an eager audience.

The second performance group was Kaos Kids, Brandeis' hip-hop group. Their performance was also engaging; the audience cheered throughout and had a great time trying to learn the difficult choreography.

The last performance of the night was by the Israeli dance group B'yachad, who performed Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)." It was lighthearted and had easy choreography-everyone enjoyed learning the moves to one of the most popular songs of last summer.

Because of the dedication of the Adagio Dance Company coordinators and eager participation of all the people present at the event, the Dance Marathon was a definitive success.

The total amount of money raised grew to over $5,000 by the end of the evening and participants can rest assured that their hours dancing will all go to a good cause.