More than 300 University of Wisconsin community members literally danced the night away Friday at the first annual Wisconsin Dance Marathon at the Shell, raising a total of $56,882 for the American Family Children’s Hospital.

The 300 dancers formed about 25 teams at the event, with many individual dancers and volunteers also showing their support during the 12-hour marathon.

“The bigger it gets, the better. It’s really fun, and the more money we raise, the bigger the difference we can make,” said Student Leadership Program Leadership Through Volunteering member and UW sophomore Bridget Quirk.

There was plenty of entertainment and upbeat music to keep dancers on their feet, including live performances by the Madhatters, Redefined, Dance Elite and UW Hypnotiq.

Morale Captains, a select group of dancers dedicated to keeping the energy level high, taught participants a dance routine to learn by the next morning.

The UW Marching Band also performed around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning as the final minutes of the marathon neared.

Free food was provided for everyone who attended, and an early breakfast was served for all those who lasted throughout the night.

Wisconsin Dance Marathon Public Relations Chair and UW junior Ellen Vanden Branden said she was very pleased with the event.

“It was everything we were hoping for and even a little more,” Vanden Branden said.

UW senior Riley Curran, an individual participant, said he raised $450 for the Dance Marathon, $400 of which was raised by going door-to-door to ask for donations.

Curran is a veteran charity dancer, saying he has raised over $3,000 at various events.

“I’ve raised $3,063 dollars total just by dancing. I danced for a lot of people,” Curran said.

Everything raised was “for the kids” at AFCH, which is the Wisconsin Dance Marathon motto.

The marathon is both an organization and an event, with schools hosting marathons nationwide to raise money for the AFCH to help patients and their parents get the top-notch care they need.

“We’re so excited to have this event. Dance marathons on other campuses make multi-millions of dollars each year, so we wanted to kick it off with a really successful first year,” said AFCH Community Relations Manager Tom Young.

Wisconsin was the only Big Ten school to not host a Dance Marathon prior to this year.

With a final total of $56,882, Wisconsin surpassed the first-year funding efforts of every other Big Ten school, according to Vanden Branden.

“Badgers don’t like to be sub-par,” Vanden Branden said.

The 12-hour marathon started at 9 p.m. Friday night and continued until about 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

The Wisconsin Dance Marathon will be hosted again next year.

“I think we planted some good seeds this year, and we hope to make this a longstanding Wisconsin tradition,” Vanden Branden said.