49th South High Marathon Dance raised $735,231.64

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer

The 49th annual South High Marathon Dance this weekend raised $735,231.64 for 36 recipients ­— 21 individuals in need and 15 organizations. 527 South High students danced.

“It’s a huge mix of emotions,” senior chair Parker Simon told The Chronicle right after the Dance. “Inside I feel so much right now. It’s great to know how much we just helped all those people.”

Senior chair Lucy Pliscofsky, her voice raspy and barely audible from hours of screaming, said, “I’m overwhelmed with emotions. We have put so much into this dance. We put our entire hearts into it.” She said, It “went amazing,” adding, “It’s always interesting with new freshman classes to see how engaged they are. But the freshmen brought the energy.”

Junior chair Eric Miller said, “Everyone had a great time. It was electric and exciting. There was never a dull moment.” He’ll be back to dance next year, but he’s conscious of the seniors. “All of my friends I’ve grown up with my entire life, this was their last Marathon,” he said.

The recipients expressed huge gratitude to the dancers, in both a video tribute and in-person during the closing ceremony. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay you,” one recipient said, vowing “I will pay it forward 1,000 times over.”

Another said, “We need more people like you in this world.”

One recipient said she was looking out over “a whole sea of loving, caring, generous young people.” She implored them to “never forget what a treasure you are.”

“This is an awesome community,” yet another recipient said. “I wish the world would catch this. This is really great.”

Another said, “There aren’t words to say what we all feel for all of you. Thank you so much.”

A particularly moving moment occurred toward the end when 11-year-old recipient Joelle Gifford of Glens Falls, who has rare aggressive B-cell lymphoma, danced in the middle of an enthusiastic circle of high schoolers who were grooving to the music and cheering her on.

“You were tired, but you treated her like family,” Joelle’s dad said to the dancers.

Another touching moment came when Brian Washburn, a 2018 recipient with two prosthetic legs, told the dancers, “I’m still here because of you.” He’s a long-time volunteer for the Dance.

“We do the little things behind the scenes,” he said. “We’d love to have seniors back next year, it would be great.”

Moreau Supervisor Jesse Fish told the dancers, “Everything that you people do has touched the lives of so many people.”

He kept his remarks short. “You’d rather dance than listen to me anyway, so I’m not going to talk for a long time.”

State Senator Jim Tedisco told the dancers, “All of you are our future” before presenting the school with the New York State Senate Empire Award.

Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner said, “You have changed lives, saved lives, and made sure people felt seen and heard and cared for. In giving we receive.”

South Glens Falls Superintendent Kristine Orr said, “I’m a very proud superintendent standing here tonight” before making a ‘six seven’ joke (the dance happened to fall on March 6 and 7).

She added, “It’s more than just a dance. It’s a thought, it’s a feeling.”

High School Principal Nicky Bogert remarked on how the students “unite as one during Spirit Week. That’s not something you see at other places…
“It takes a community to pull off an event like this. It’s planned for a very long time and lots of people are part of it.”

The Lake George Drum Line performed an energetic marching set at the Dance.

“It’s an honor and privilege to get to be here every year with you guys,” one member said.

Amid all the fun, the dancers needed to equip themselves with a true sense of perseverance as the hours wore on and sleep deprivation kicked in.
“I can’t wait to take a shower,” one boy said to a friend.

One alumni volunteer shared that she powered through with the help of three Red Bulls.

Still, the dancers were sure to seize the moment, inspired by the inscription pasted in huge letters on the walls: “I owned every second that this world could give.”

The lyric comes from the 2013 OneRepublic song ‘I Lived,’ which the dancers moved to in choreographed fashion at the beginning and end of the Dance.

A special moment in the closing ceremony was when South High English teacher Charles Dickens (yes, he’s an English teacher that happens to share the name of the famous Victorian era novelist) pulled out an acoustic guitar and led the senior boys in an emotional rendition of the country classic ‘Wagon Wheel.’

There was hardly a dry eye in the legion of boys as they put their arms around each other and belted out the lyrics.

“I’ve never seen men with that much emotion before,” one girl told her friend. She thought for a moment, then added, “There were men who were crying who I didn’t think would be crying.”

Such was the power of the 49th annual South High Marathon Dance. And next year’s milestone is shaping up to be another one to remember.

“I’ve already heard the 50th has got a lot of surprises in store,” junior chair Eric Miller told The Chronicle. “It’s definitely going to be a big one.”

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