Alpha Phi crowned at War of the Roses

Penn’s eight sororities pumped up the Theater of Living Arts Wednesday night in the spirit of charity — and for the honor of being named “the Rose of Pi Kappa Phi.”

The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity held the sorority dance competition titled War of the Roses, where Alpha Phi came out on top.

Dance teams were judged based on four categories: the quality of their dance routine, the creativity of their performance, crowd support and ticket sales. The event raised $4,600 from ticket sales and sold over 500 tickets by the start of the event, according to Pi Kappa Phi brother and Wharton senior Marcos Perez.

This is Pi Kappa Phi’s second year hosting the War of the Roses, and a number of veterans noticed a significant change in the energy of the event from last year.

“No one really knew what to expect last year,” Kappa Alpha Theta sister and College junior Alexandra Levine said. “[But] this year, people are taking it a lot more seriously.”

Perez explained that some rules were different this year. For instance, they invited four outside judges from different dance groups to pick the winning sorority. The event’s judges hailed from Dhamaka, Arts House, Quaker Girls and Sparks. The Pi Kappa Phi brothers also invited local musician Kenn Kweder as a fifth honorary judge.

Delta Delta Delta, last year’s champions, walked away as runners-up. Their team worked a captivating Black Swan theme into its routine, where some girls — originally dressed in all-white — walked away with black smears all over their faces.

“It was neck and neck, but I would’ve given it to Tri Delt,” Perez said of the toss-up between Tri Delt and Sigma Delta Tau for runners-up.

Still, Alpha Phi, who worked a circus theme — cracking whips and waving capes — came out on top.

“It was the most cohesive act,” said College senior Anna Fountaine, the judge from Arts House and former Dance Arts Council chairwoman. “There was a story line. It had entertainment value. They had it all technically, too.”

Alpha Phi won $1,000 to give to the charity of their choice, along with a selection of gift cards.

Although Alpha Phi and Delta Delta Delta stole the show, the remaining sororities stood on their own, too.

Sigma Kappa worked a unique step routine into their performance. Sigma Delta Tau, the first sorority to perform, brought energy onto the stage as the opening act. Kappa Alpha Theta paid homage to Michael Jackson, dancing to a “Thriller” theme. Zeta Tau Alpha made its first appearance at War of the Roses.

“It’s only the second year, but it’s nice to see that the teams are really getting into it,” Pi Kappa Phi and Wharton freshman Alan Sostek said.

Perez added, “I think the event was a huge success. The judges were fantastic, and the energy was great, and it was all for a great cause.”

Note: This article was updated from its original version to reflect that Perez believed Tri Delt should have been the runners-up, not the overall winners.

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