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DaniLeigh delivers Dance Marathon’s first headlining performance at 10-hour mark

Hip-hop artist DaniLeigh and her four backup dancers comprised the first headliner of Dance Marathon. The crowd jumped as she performed unreleased tracks. (Emily Ng/Daily Bruin)

By Brooke Cuzick

April 7, 2019 12:54 a.m.

DaniLeigh played unreleased tracks to keep her audience on their feet at Dance Marathon.

Going into the tenth hour of UCLA’s Dance Marathon, the event’s first headliner maintained students’ energies along with her four backup dancers. They got the crowd jumping while hip-hop artist DaniLeigh opened with her fast-paced song “No Limits.”

Sarah Hinton, a third-year physiological science student, said the presence of well-known artists like DaniLeigh at Dance Marathon helps to draw a larger audience. The singer’s backup dancers stood out most and made the set more enticing and enjoyable, Hinton said.

“(DaniLeigh) had this spunk and this style that I don’t think anyone could match. It was quite exceptional,” Hinton said. “She has a very intrinsic swagger and style that felt so natural – like nothing forced at all.”

[RELATED: Dance Marathon features speakers’ experiences with HIV, empowering drag queen show]

DaniLeigh impressed listeners who had never heard her music before the Dance Marathon performance. Jacky Miller, a first-year business economics student, said the singer’s set left her feeling mind-blown. Although she and her friends had been dancing for hours, the headliners gave them the energy to keep moving.

“(DaniLeigh) was an amazing dancer, a great singer and her songs were just so hype,” Miller said. “I was pretty close up at the front, and her interactions with the crowd were just amazing and really just great.”

The inclusion of unreleased track “Pleasure” added to the excitement of fans in the audience, said first-year political science student Collin Shore. The unexpected turn in the set list ensured that all the participants had a great time dancing, even though they were attending the later 9 p.m. to midnight shift, Shore said.

“It’s been a really long day for us on our feet, but she was really successful getting us to join the dance and move our feet,” Shore said.

Despite students’ enjoyment of the set, the goal of raising money for pediatric AIDS and HIV was not lost. DaniLeigh took a break from her upbeat set to recognize the cause the fundraiser was working toward.

“It’s really dope to see people here for a cause; that’s incredible,” DaniLeigh said. “You guys are out here standing for it, that’s amazing.”

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Brooke Cuzick | Alumna
Cuzick previously served as a senior staff writing for Arts and Entertainment. She was the Music | Fine Arts editor from 2019-2020 and an A&E reporter from 2018-2019.
Cuzick previously served as a senior staff writing for Arts and Entertainment. She was the Music | Fine Arts editor from 2019-2020 and an A&E reporter from 2018-2019.
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