Step show brings high energy from many groups

The best word one can use to describe the atmosphere in Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Friday night is electric.

Music was blasting, courtesy of DJ Jimmy Jam, as hundreds of students piled into the venue for the second annual NPHC step show.

"I'm excited to see the groups tonight," said Shawn Corapi, a 6th-semester political science major. "I've never been to something like this before."

The step show showcased members of the "divine nine" organizations composing the National Pan Hellenic Council, as well as members from other student organizations including the students from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), the UConn All-Stars and Pivotal Motion.

"The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) was founded in 1930 and governs the historically African-American fraternities and sororities," said Todd Sullivan, the director of fraternity and sorority life at UConn. "The 'Divine Nine' (four sororities and five fraternities) have all had a historical presence at UConn. Currently, six of the nine have active undergraduate chapters here and make up the local NPHC."

The judges for the evening consisted of one member from each of the NPHC organizations. The grand prize? $1000 to the winning fraternity and sorority, as well as a $500 to the second place teams.

The winners for the evening were Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. In second place were Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Harold Cooper, the step master for Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. and a 3rd-year graduate student studying medicinal chemistry, said that stepping is more than just dancing for him and his fraternity brothers.

"I'm not nervous about it, I'm anxious sort of, but I've done it before," said Cooper. "We've stepped at other schools, universities, arenas … I love it."

The night, kicked off with Will Jones, a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and president of the NPHC and Kim Roberts, a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and vice president for NPHC, welcomed students and Greek alumni to the show.

First up was the SCSU group, wearing all black. The group performed a variety of tribute steps paying tribute to a variety of NPHC organizations.

A tribute step, as explained to this DC columnist by Kendra Darigan, a graduate assistant in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, is when organizations pay their respects to other organizations through a step that represents that group. Commonly, the fraternities will do a step representing their "sister sorority," or vise versa.

Next up were members of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.. A group of women sat patiently waiting on a stage set like an airport terminal. Soon after the dancers found out that their flight number 1920 (the same year as their founding) has been cancelled, they broke into a sexy and well-choreographed routine.

After the ladies of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. exited the stage, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was up next. A Run-DMC look-alike kicked off the performance with a rendition of "Run's House," and then other women joined the stage dressed in red adidas tracksuits. Mid way through the performance, the track jackets were removed to reveal "Run DST" T-shirts, which brought a roar from the audience.

Members from the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. wowed the audience as the blindfolded one another and utilized canes to add an extra element to their routine. As the women jumped and ducked while blindfolded, audience member Brian Witte, a 5th-semester finance major, couldn't even believe his eyes.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Witte. "This is wild."

After a brief intermission, the show really began to pick up as the fraternities graced the stage with their intense performance and outrageous aerial acrobatics.

Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. started off the second set, walking from the back doors of Jorgensen toward the stage wearing jail uniforms lead by a white farmer. Highlights of the performance included using one of the brothers as a human jump rope, the hilarious audio and acting incorporated into their performance and the crowd roared when the song "Peanut Butter Jelly Time," came through the speakers.

Cooper said that stepping is much more than just dancing for him and his brothers.

"Stepping fosters brotherhood, teamwork and pride for your organization," said Cooper. "It shows who you are."

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc was up next, wearing all black with white bow ties and gold boots. The skit started off with two young kids talking about their dreams of wearing purple and gold, the fraternity's colors, when they grow up and go to college. With only one minor wardrobe malfunction after the entire group dropped into splits on stage, the fraternity held it down and finished off strong.

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was the last Greek performance of the evening, wearing blue dress shirts with white ties - for most of the performance anyway. The men went off stage and returned shirtless, drawing cheers and hollers from the crowd. The men reenacted part of the performance in slow motion and used clever humor in their audio.

While the judges tallied up the scores, members of the UConn All-Stars graced the stage in their red baseball jerseys, fallowed by Pivotal Motion - wearing grey and purple for the most part, and the closest resemblance to an "America's Next Dace Crew" troop in Conn.

"It was a really different experience and like nothing I could have expected," said Corapi. "Definitely a great time."