Nearing midnight, the dancers cleared the stage to make way for the Koepke family to speak.

Rhonda Koepke clutched the microphone and gestured towards the quilts hanging around the Main Lounge at the Iowa Memorial Union.

Her morale captain nickname is Ocean Spray.

Mary Welsh is wearing a Santa Claus hat with a tiger hawk logo nestled in the faux fur – a nod to Dance Marathon’s holiday hour.

Perched on top of her father’s shoulders, Eden Levetzow points towards Perky – the female Herky mascot – who’s making her way across the IMU lounge through the sea of families, dancers, and volunteers.

Kelsey Lee played nickel rummy with her parents in the second floor ballrooom, away from the roar of the dancers continuing to warm up their dance moves.

It’s okay if people don’t know what nickel rummy is, Lee said.

Rian Bevan is in her second year of remission. While dancers wrapped up a tribute to the Dance Marathon families in the Main Lounge, Bevan wandered around the Iowa Memorial Union, handing out beaded necklaces and Fun Dip to her fellow cancer survivors.

This is her third Dance Marathon.

The night erupted in cheers.

In the Iowa Memorial Union, as Dance Marathon dancers savored their last few minutes of sitting before dancing for the next 24 hours, the technical team performed final sound checks. Dancers mingled and chatted amongst a sea of green t-shirts waiting for the festivities to begin.

Matt La Luz/The Daily Iowan – Khane Smith gets ready to eat some snacks from the concession stand in the Family Room during Dance Marathon at the IMU on Friday, Feb. 4,2011. Kathleen Willem/ The Daily Iowan – A tear rolls down the cheek of Royce Peterson as he listens to Jacki Eckrich speak about [...]