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3,000 WATCH ECLECTIC STEP SHOW
Source: The Daily
Author: Ashley Russell
Date: May 14, 2007
Robots, nurses, African tribesmen and even phantoms served as characters for the themes in the 12th Annual National Pan-Hellenic (NPHC) Step Show held Saturday at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
About 3,000 audience members, ranging from toddlers to elderly men and women from the community, came to experience the art of stepping.
The show, sponsored by the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, the ASUW Black Student Commission and the UW Business School, is one of the largest African-American events on campus and showcases performances from the nine African-American Greek organizations that compete for the first-place cash prize of $1,000. Second-place winners receive $500.
The NPHC serves as the umbrella organization for the “Divine Nine,” representing unity between the organizations. Six out of the nine participated, including the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
All of the organizations stayed true to the theme of “step your game up,” said junior Chloe Ameh, technical chair of Delta Sigma Theta.
“It was really a competition as everyone was fired up to win,” Ameh said.
Stepping stems from African dance moves and culture as it tells a story, said Christian Jenkins, a junior and the president of Alpha Phi Alpha.
Kappa Alpha Psi and Phi Beta Sigma called on the history of stepping for their themes as both took the audience across the world to Africa with their props and costumes. Kappa Alpha Psi even included the art of drumming with a surprise performance from the Seahawk drum line.
“The costumes were awesome this year,” junior Rachel Gillum said. “The performances included a lot of different elements such as video, dancing and stepping.”
Excitement roared from the crowd as Delta Sigma Theta performed. Reigning champion Zeta Phi Beta defended its six-year title by taking audience members to the future with robotic costumes bought from China.
“We have been practicing three to four hours every day since March,” said Charmaigne Jones, NPHC treasurer and member of Zeta Phi Beta. “The only thing I really missed out on was sleep, but it was all worth it in the end.”
Alpha Phi Alpha, who held the championship title from 2002-05, hoped to redeem itself after losing last year to Phi Beta Sigma. It was successful with its Phantom of the Opera performance, in which it used stepping to lure a woman to the phantom. The audience gasped as one dancer began to perform a step on an elevated platform held by his brothers and was dropped suddenly. He landed successfully.
Ameh said she hopes for greater participation in next year’s event.
“It would be really nice to see all the ‘Divine Nine’ represented next year,” she said.
About 3,000 audience members, ranging from toddlers to elderly men and women from the community, came to experience the art of stepping.
The show, sponsored by the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, the ASUW Black Student Commission and the UW Business School, is one of the largest African-American events on campus and showcases performances from the nine African-American Greek organizations that compete for the first-place cash prize of $1,000. Second-place winners receive $500.
The NPHC serves as the umbrella organization for the “Divine Nine,” representing unity between the organizations. Six out of the nine participated, including the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
All of the organizations stayed true to the theme of “step your game up,” said junior Chloe Ameh, technical chair of Delta Sigma Theta.
“It was really a competition as everyone was fired up to win,” Ameh said.
Stepping stems from African dance moves and culture as it tells a story, said Christian Jenkins, a junior and the president of Alpha Phi Alpha.
Kappa Alpha Psi and Phi Beta Sigma called on the history of stepping for their themes as both took the audience across the world to Africa with their props and costumes. Kappa Alpha Psi even included the art of drumming with a surprise performance from the Seahawk drum line.
“The costumes were awesome this year,” junior Rachel Gillum said. “The performances included a lot of different elements such as video, dancing and stepping.”
Excitement roared from the crowd as Delta Sigma Theta performed. Reigning champion Zeta Phi Beta defended its six-year title by taking audience members to the future with robotic costumes bought from China.
“We have been practicing three to four hours every day since March,” said Charmaigne Jones, NPHC treasurer and member of Zeta Phi Beta. “The only thing I really missed out on was sleep, but it was all worth it in the end.”
Alpha Phi Alpha, who held the championship title from 2002-05, hoped to redeem itself after losing last year to Phi Beta Sigma. It was successful with its Phantom of the Opera performance, in which it used stepping to lure a woman to the phantom. The audience gasped as one dancer began to perform a step on an elevated platform held by his brothers and was dropped suddenly. He landed successfully.
Ameh said she hopes for greater participation in next year’s event.
“It would be really nice to see all the ‘Divine Nine’ represented next year,” she said.