It's hard to elaborate on particular events when there was so much happening. The line dance was taught in the first hours, five or more bands played, and various PSU organizations put on dance shows. Alumni showed how good their memories are by performing line dances from 1999,20(X), 2001, and 2002 (two of which writer Melissa Kupchack knew due to her years as a dancer and as Thon chair). And that's only what was happening on the stage. On the first floor there was dancing of all kinds, word puzzles and play dough, bubbles and water gun fights, and other forms of play. To even things up there were color wars (our school in combination with a few other campuses was silver). The wars were team challenges almost like you would get from an episode of G-rated Road Rules/ Real World. Speaking of MTV, members from Road Rules and Real World were at Thon this year and were highly involved. They learned the line dances, danced with dancers and moralers, posed for pictures, and signed autographs. Also joining dancers on the floor were some of PSU's biggest football players, who gave the dancers back rubs and others piggy back rides to give their feet a rest. When Cutchall and Luthra were asked Thon meant to them, they both had similar outlooks on the dance marathon. "Thon is about giving of yourself in any way, shape, or form to help others," said Cutchall. Luthra said, "It's about the kids. How much you want to be with them and help them." Both dancers had favorite events during their time on the floor. "I liked it when they set up the wedding booth, hut I still have to find my wife. I never saw her again after the ceremony, but isn't that how it normally turns out?" joked Cutchall. Luthra favored the line dance and all the different moves and lyrics, When posed with the question about their best experience Luthra couldn't decide, "There were so many great experiences it's hard to chose one," said Luthra. She ended up narrowing it down to two. The first was being with her friends from CCSG (Commonwealth College Student Government), "It was great having them there when my moralers could not be. They stuck by me and made sure I had encouragement and support," said Luthra. The sec ond best moment for Luthra was when she was able to hold Alicia, a beautiful baby girl of less than a year, who along with her twin sister, has been diag nosed with a form of pediatric cancer. "It was so touching and wonderful holding Alicia, she was so sweet and she fell asleep in my arms. It made me feel good to know that I was dancing for her and other children like her and her sister." Cutchall's best experience also had to do with the children in the Four Diamonds families, only his was more of a playful nature. "When I was starting to get EXTREMELY tired I decided to get my squirt gun out Nell the kids had been planning non-stop all ~, , , Thor, so they had a huge sniper ring set up . I was completely soaked before I ever saw anyone else who was armed. It was great. And then I found them so I got to a little revenge," said Cutchall. Neither Cutchall nor Luthra felt at any time like they weren't going to make it, but both had times when a lack of sleep and too much standing almost caught up with them, According to Cutchall, "Everything was fine 'til 1 had to go to the bathroom. Waiting in line, not doing anything really let you realize how tired you were. For Luthra it was the last four hours, when the last four hour moralers" started to show up giv ing the time away. However, that could not defeat their spirits as Luthra said the children were "instant moti vators" and kept the dancers on their toes. It is hard to tell who summed up their Thou experience best Luthra said, "lt was the most awesome experience in my life. Others should go and see for themselves, It takes being PSU Proud to a whole new level!" Cutchall simply said, "Jump like a monkey," a phrase reminiscent of yet another line in the line dance song, "rally monkey Anaheim," which made dancer's jump around like monkeys. Continued from Page 6 Left: Luthra gives he feet a break by catching a piggy back ride from one of PSU's football players. The football players offered rides and massages to many of the dancers. Right: These photos show just few of the moves the dancers did during the line dance. Cutchall was a line dance pro by the time this dance started late Saturday afternoon.
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