One night stand is the phrase boldly emblazoned across the t-shirts promoting Tanzbödeli. The saying doesn’t normally generate thoughts concerning culture, cancer research, or fundraising, but upon removing your mind from the gutter you see that following the innuendo are the words, “against cancer.” Tanzbödeli is the brainchild of business economics sophomore and Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senator, Taylor Bilby. While running for Senate last year Tanzbödeli was her platform. While others focused on issues like transparency, community service on campus and financial aid, she promoted the idea to create a festival showcasing UA talent and raising money. The name originated from a trail that winds from the town of Gimmelwald, Switzerland to a summit with breathtaking views of the Alps. After her election the idea remained dormant until the summer. Bilby was working at a law firm and said, “Not being a law student they didn’t have much for me. So I spent most of my time working on [Tanzbödeli], 8 hour days where I would print up proposals and figure out the mall map.” Once she returned to school in the fall she recruited a committee to continue planning the event and the wheels began to turn.
Tanzbödeli is set to take place April 1, on the UA Mall from 5 to10 p.m. Marketing shirts and tickets are being sold on the Mall Monday, March 28 through Thursday 31for $10. Tickets will also be on sale for $10 and include an event t-shirt. Procrastinator’s always have the option to buy their tickets at the door on Friday. Bilby said, “It’s more of an experience than a concert.” All of the talent on display is homegrown and many are wildcats themselves. Among the musical performers is Jake Broido, CatCall, which is UA’s all male acappella group, Ilamir, and Kevin and Darius. Psychology Senior Kevin Brown is half of “Kevin and Darius” and encourages students to come out and support the cause. Brown said, “I think we as a student body should give a little more credit to the music and art scene because Tucson is actually a very unique place in the artistic realm.” The event will also showcase a variety of drawings, paintings, and photography, many of which will be available for auction at the event.
Bilby said the event is “ a grassroots attempt to change the way UA looks at their student talent.” However, with all proceeds being donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation there is clearly a higher meaning to the festival. The “fire” that fueled her desire to aid this cause came from her own experience with cancer, caring for her mother who is now a survivor. Marketing sophomore, and member of Tanzbödeli’s art committee, Kelsee Becker has also been touched by cancer. At the time of the interview she said, “Just two days ago, a very close family friend passed away from caner at only 57 years old…While not everyone gets breast cancer, everyone is affected by it.”
The organizers of Tanzbödeli joined forces with the University Filmmakers Organization to create videos featuring the stories of cancer survivors in the Arizona community. These women share their stories of diagnosis, treatment, and personal battle with cancer. All are vibrant figures that are a testament to the value of life and the power of hope. From Carol who is a two-time survivor and left her job of 20 years to work at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center to Jodi who is a mom of two current University of Arizona students. These videos show the beneficiary of Tanzbödeli’s proceeds is not some faceless research center but the scores of women that will be inevitably touched by cancer. They are women one could pass on the street on any given day.
There are few reasons not to attend Tanzbödeli; it’s an opportunity to support and enjoy a vast range of Tucson talent while contributing to finding a cure to a disease whose impact will hopefully one day be a distant memory. If the lure of the Charles Darwin Experience and fine art enough, take heart in Bilby’s closing words. She says, “ I guess it’s really easy a lot of times for students to just not care, just to ignore the emails they get and the event invitations with all the busyness we have in our lives. But when something really matters I think people should give it a chance. I think this matters. Breast Cancer matters, over 200,000 women are diagnosed every year. It’s something we can help to change, if you don’t do anything you can’t ever say you tried.”
Links to survivor videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/UATanzbodeli
Tanzbödeli homepage: http://tanzbodeli.tumblr.com/
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Arizona chapter.