Many of you, if not most of you, know that last night, Syracuse hosted Relay for Life in the Carrier Dome from 6 p.m. to 4:30 this morning. The Relay was a fundraiser that benefits cancer research. A large number of students gathered in the Dome for the cause.
The night consisted of a lot of entertainment. DanceWorks and Orange Pulse dance groups both performed, and if I'm not much mistaken, the SU Dance Team and possibly SU cheerleaders may have also performed in the beginning (not positive about those last two though). Other groups like the Step Team and a tap group also performed. Two Zumba instructors came in around 1 a.m. and led a hour-long Zumba workout. It was quite an active and enjoyable night.
In class, we talk a lot about how dance builds community. I know that through my own experiences with dance, but last night, I was given a refresher in the idea. I watched all these groups perform, dancing different styles, with different people, wearing different things. However, they were all united. How? By participating in the same event, for the same purpose, to reach the same goal. They were all there to show support for a great cause, raise money and fight against cancer.
Thinking about the different dance groups performing for the same cause made me realize that last night, for the first time in my college career, I felt as if Syracuse had become a close-knit community. Almost like a family. For the first time, I could dance alongside people who usually ignore me when they pass me on the Quad. I didn't feel inferior when someone danced better than I did, nor did I feel superior when someone didn't dance so well. I felt equal to everyone. I could laugh and smile and joke with people who I would never speak to otherwise. I felt connected to every person I was in the Dome with. It made me respect and love this school so much more because for those 10.5 hours, we were all able to put our differences aside and join together to help a good cause. It was a great feeling and an even greater night.
Relay wasn't entirely dance-based, but I'm sure dance-related fundraisers create a similar feeling. If you know this by experience, please share and compare!
And as an added note, we ended up raising $165,753.04. It was quite a successful evening.
Jess-- I couldn't agree more. Relay was a wonderful event last night! I really enjoyed seeing the entire campus come out to support the fight against cancer and raise money towards cancer research.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, the dance aspect of Relay for Life was awesome. I loved how everyone came together as a community as well. Something about dance made the event extremely calming. The event is so emotional and it was nice to have dance as that outlet!
I wish we had more big fundraisers at our school every year. They really are wonderful and forces everyone to hang out and dance together :)