Club DM, introduced this year to handle record-breaking enrollment, earned positive reviews from dancers, though some said the heated tent had temperature problems and sometimes felt disconnected from the rest of the marathon.

Dance Marathon organizers erected a heated tent on Norris South Lawn to provide for the 750 enrolled dancers. The tent is connected to Norris by a heated corridor, and dancers rotate through the room, spending anywhere from one to three blocks in the tent.

In previous years, organizers limited dancer enrollment, and kept a waiting list for overflow dancers. The turnout this year was so large that organizers decided to search for alternative ways to provide for the extra dancers. After debating using other on-campus facilities to hold the larger crowd, organizers decided to utilize the heated tent.

Many dancers found the new pavilion a welcome change of pace after spending hours in the Louis Room.

“It was a welcome transition,” said Weinberg sophomore Liz Brezinski.

Julia Padvoiskis, a McCormick senior, agreed. “I don’t mind moving around. It’s a nice change of scenery,” she said.

Despite the heated tent, dancers still cited temperature issues as one drawback to “Club DM.”

“I think the biggest issue is temperature control,” Serene Chen, a SESP sophomore, said.

“The temperature isn’t regulated well, but otherwise the tent is fine,” Communications sophomore Alex Hunstein said.

Others said that while the change of pace was welcome, they felt disconnected from the rest of the action and other dancers in the Louis Room.

“It’s a nice change of settings, but sometimes it’s hard to get the energy up in both locations because the DJs are only in one place,” SESP freshman Rachel Zinn said.

Dancers in “Club DM” watch on-stage action in the Louis Room from large overhead screens.

“There’s clearly more going on in the Louis Room,” Brezinski said. “I feel detached from the main action.”