Dance Benefit to Change Name

This year's dance marathon will move to the beat of a different name.

In an effort to involve students who lived in river houses, the sixth annual Currier House Dance Marathon will be called the Harvard University Dance Marathon.

The project coordinators said they hoped the change of name will attract students from other houses to help with the marathon. "The name put people off by making them think the money was just going to Currier House," said project coordinator Amy M. McNamer '90.

Until last year the marathon raised money for House and Neighborhood Development (HAND) programs, but the new directors have narrowed down the recipients to six selected charities.

"Some HAND programs were making practically no money, so we decided to choose six charities which we felt were worthwhile and that we could really help," said Project Chairperson Linda J. Halliday '88.

Halliday said the effort to involve the rest of the college will begin with tonight's opening meeting, which will be open to all, students. "We have always had one coordinator from each house but there was never any real feeling of involvement," she said.

The dance marathon will take place this year on February 20. It will last for twelve hours and culminate in a University-wide party. The dancers, usually numbering about 100, solicit pledges prior to the marathon. The student raising the most money wins a free vacation.

In past years Halliday said the event has attracted dancers by ensuring that individual HAND programs would receive a proportion of the money raised relative to the number of dancers from that house.

But a poll of last year's dancers revealed that they danced in order to raise money for charity and not out of house loyalty. For this reason, Halliday said, the organizers decided that they would not lose participants by giving money to only a few House charities.

Changes this year also include the appointment of one coordinator for all of the river houses. "We will have better communication with the individual house coordinators and try to get more of their input and ideas," said project organizer Lisa C. Patton '88.