Leaping into an activity-and-dance-filled 10 hours, Pediatric AIDS Coalition at UCLA’s 24th annual Dance Marathon has begun its countdown.

Featuring 44 teams and around 390 entrants, PAC’s Dance Marathon in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom is fighting for an AIDS-free generation and the destigmatization of HIV/AIDS. This colorful and lively 10-hour danceathon offers games, performances, food, raffles and more for participants. Aiming to raise money for its beneficiaries, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the UCLA AIDS Institute and The Laurel Foundation, PAC opened the doors for dancers at 2 p.m. Each participant is put on one of five teams: Team Red, Green, Blue, Purple or Pink all of which are led by a PAC captain who leads their team through color wars, games and the 10 hours of dancing.

“It’s a way to be involved in one of UCLA’s biggest traditions, and it’s all for a cause,” fourth-year public affairs student and PAC Public Relations Director Rowan Kruger said.

[Related: Dance Marathon brings performances, HIV/AIDS advocacy to Ackerman Grand Ballroom] 

By taking a firm stand for HIV/AIDS treatment and resources, Dance Marathon has improved logistically over time to help directly support its beneficiaries and build back club and cause visibility at UCLA post-COVID, PAC President Sasha Avakyan said. Finally garnering enough recognition on campus where people are both aware of and excited for the Dance Marathon, the fourth-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student said she hopes people learn more about PAC’s mission.

Booths lined around the ballroom consist of a combination of fun activities and educational resources, such as trifolds showcasing the direct impact of different donation amounts. For example, a $12 donation correlates to one month of care and treatment for a child living with HIV. Additionally, an interactive poster reading, “Why We Are Dancing?” on the back wall allows participants to post their incentive for being at the annual marathon. Responses iterated the importance of ending the stigma around the diseases, advocating for an AIDS-free generation and fundraising for affected children.

The marathon is set to last for 10 hours as opposed to 13 hours last year and 19 hours from the year before. While PAC would love to elongate the marathon’s duration, the student-run nonprofit organization is prioritizing the curation of a strong and meaningful experience as opposed to a long one, Avakyan said.

“The 10-hour commitment is still something that makes people reflect on their sacrifice,” Avakyan said.

Starting to fill up around 40 minutes into the event, a combination of PAC members and non-affiliated students were there to support the marathon’s cause. Being a member since her first year, Avaykan said PAC is a place of joy to get people to learn about the objective and become better advocates for HIV/AIDS research. Given recent developments with USAID and the uncertainty of resource funding both nationally and globally, Kruger added that PAC and its fundraising are especially important this year due to the direct impact it has on the organization’s beneficiaries.

Fourth-year education and social transformations student Alice Chiang said she had first heard about Dance Marathon last year and wanted to attend the dance party to support a good cause. First-year public health student Isaac Balderas agreed that he could not pass up the chance to check it out.

Keeping the party going and invigorating the slow-growing crowd, The Cadence, one of the 10 bands to perform this Saturday, took center stage at 2:30 p.m. Consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Pete Nguyen, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Billy Vu Lam, bassist Nam Tran and drummer Tom Broderick, this band featuring UCLA alumni transported the crowd through different decades with their pop mashups. 

[Related: Dance Marathon 2024: Pediatric AIDS Coalition raises spirits, awareness and $48,070 in annual event] 

Inspiring a makeshift conga line and rhythmic clapping, coming back to UCLA and playing in Ackerman felt like a full circle, nostalgic moment, Tran said. Echoing the importance of PAC’s mission, family physician Nguyen said the group is all for doing what they can to combat chronic disease in kids.

“It’s an amazing cause and opportunity to be here to motivate the dancers and get them energized,” Tran said. “They give us energy and we give it right back. I know they have a long way to go.”