Cabrillo Music Theatre Hosts 2nd Annual Dance Marathon Today

Cabrillo Music Theatre, coming on the heels of last year's successful event, announces its' 2nd Annual, 24-hour DANCE MARATHON! This exciting community fundraising event aims to unite marathon contestants of all ages and abilities, your favorite Cabrillo Characters, and local businesses for 24 hours of dance, Zumba, Stretch, music, food, prizes and special guests! Cabrillo's 2nd annual DANCE MARATHON will take place from this weekend, August 7th to August 8th, at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, 403 W. Hillcrest, Thousand Oaks, 91360. All proceeds go to Cabrillo Music Theatre's outreach programs. Dance the night away for Cabrillo Music Theatre!

2014's Dance Marathon was the most successful single fundraising effort of the year, and Artistic Director Lewis Wilkenfeld has even higher hopes for this year's Marathon. "We've got events planned throughout the 24 hours, including Cabrillo cast reunions, theme hours, and remote skype sessions! We're looking to triple last year's participation and results!" On a more serious note, Wilkenfeld adds, "Last year saw us reach our fundraising goal with close to fifty different efforts and projects. Now we have a focused few events, and theCABRILLO DANCE MARATHON is chief among them. We hope that everyone who stepped up to keep Cabrillo alive last year will participate in the Marathon!"

Contestants of all ages and all skill-levels are encouraged to sign up, and participants can dance for one hour or all twenty-four! Theme hours and cast reunions will help keep contestants "on their toes" with events throughout the schedule, and some participants are picking their spots to dance for Cabrillo. And, of course, dancers can dance in any style throughout the DANCE MARATHON, and can choose whether to dance in the style of the hour, or go "freestyle!"

Theme hours so far include: Rock & Roll with the BYE BYE BIRDIE cast (Friday, 10PM-11PM), OKLAHOMA cast reunion (Saturday, 10AM-11AM), MARY POPPINS Reunion and Tap with Bert (Saturday, 1PM-2PM, tap shoes welcome), and Music of the 60s and 70s with the cast of COMPANY, (Saturday 2PM-3PM). In addition, the cast of Young Artists' Ensemble's LEGALLY BLONDE will take over the midnight hour, between performances of their show at Thousand Oaks High School. Other cast reunions to be announced.

Dancing is also great exercise, and the CABRILLO DANCE MARATHON will keep contestants in shape by incorporating Zumba, by Illuminare Studios (9pm-10pm on Friday, the 6th) and Fitness with Del (12pm-1pm on Saturday, the 8th) and yoga/stretch instruction by Cabrillo Music Theatre's own Heather Castillo (7am-8am on Saturday, the 8.th) All are great ways to keep moving while mixing things up!

If individuals would rather pledge than dance, Cabrillo is encouraging donations to their favorite Cabrillo Character! Joining the DANCE MARATHON this year will be some of Cabrillo's favorite on-stage characters. Make your pledge on the Marathon website to "Mary Poppins" (Juliana Hansen), "Bert the Chimney Sweep" (Wesley Alfvin), "Maria Von Trapp" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Shannon Warne), "Annie Warbucks" from ANNIE (Quinn Allyn Martin), "Albert Peterson" from BYE BYE BIRDIE (Zach Ford), and OKLAHOMA's own "Aunt Eller" (Dynell Leigh)! Each will compete against the other for most hours danced and highest amount pledged! Sponsor your favorite or pledge to them ALL!

For the serious 24-hour dancers, an anonymous donor has pledged $150 to Cabrillo for each dancer who completes the entire marathon!

Get down to the sounds of some of the area's hottest Disc Jockeys! Local DJ's have signed up to support Cabrillo Music Theatre by donating their time and equipment to keep contestants going with a variety of tunes, from the swing of Big Band, to the rock of the 80's, on through everyone's favorite show tunes! Participating DJs include Bryan Rodgers, Apollo Bukowski of Apollo Productions, Frank LaGuardia, Krista Pettersson, Alex Trejo, Joseph Shimamoto, Devan Keys, and Garrett Orness.

Cabrillo Music Theatre is proud to be partnering with the business community once again. The Conejo Recreation and Parks District serves as a VIP Sponsor for the event. Local businesses supporting dancers for the CABRILLO DANCE MARATHON include Ralph's Groceries, Dole, Vons Groceries, Sprouts Groceries, Trader Joes, Costco Warehouse, Thousand Oaks Toyota & Scion, Swanky Salon, Cambridge Properties, Greene Family Inc., Mission Family Dentistry, and Paso Por Paso. Many of these businesses have helped the cause by making generous donations of food and supplies to keep our DANCE MARATHON contestants going.

For the casual dancer or the serious competitor, for the very young and the "young at heart," and for those who want to support the local arts scene, there's truly something for everyone at the 2015 CABRILLO DANCE MARATHON. Join an entire community who will share their time and talents to keep Broadway in our Backyard on August 7th and 8th!

The 2nd annual "CABRILLO DANCE MARATHON" will be held for a continuous 24 hour period from 6:00pm tonight, August 7th through 6:00pm Saturday, August 8th at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts. 403 W. Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks.

There is no age limit nor dance training/ability needed to participate in this event.

"Dancers" will need to stay on their feet moving/dancing continuously for as long as they can. Friends, family, and supporters will donate "pledges" on the website. Participants may start dancing at any time of the 24-hour period to log continuous dancing. Dancers can log any number of hours up to 24, and pledges can be in the form of a flat fee or a "per hour" donation. For dancers or donors who would like to participate, visit www.CMTdancemarathon.dojiggy.com and register (it's free!).