Temperatures were running high at "Stomping on the Yard," the annual Bicultural InterGreek Council-sponsored step show in Irvine Auditorium Saturday night.
Co-sponsored by the U.S. Army, the competition was a "celebration of leadership and showmanship," according to Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Program Coordinator and step show emcee Larry Moses.
Following performances by the Inspiration and the Quaker Girls, Moses returned to the stage to point out the fire exits "in case it gets so hot you wanna get out of here in a hurry."
After a series of shout-outs from BIG-C President and College junior Enny Peguero, the curtain opened to reveal the stage set up like a martial arts dojo. Amidst this setting, the step team of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. performed a series of stunts -- one of which consisted of a human pyramid with the brothers' backs facing the floor.
The defending champions, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., sauntered on stage in heels and black suits with pink and green accessories while pulling several male performers by the tie.
In a repeat of a stunt they performed last year, the AKA steppers formed a row on the stage and popped up as another sister rolled beneath them.
The audience was attentive throughout the night.
"I heard so much about the step show, so I wanted to get that experience," Wesleyan University freshman Oni Tongo said.
Clothing was an important aspect of the show. The Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc. team wore uniforms splattered with gold paint, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.'s team dressed up as characters from The Wizard of Oz.
Competition was intense with each sorority and fraternity pulling out all the stops.
The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. step team, in matching white suits and hats with blue accessories and suspenders, leap-frogged over each other while blindfolded.
The group that drew the most vocal response from the audience, however, was the Phi Beta Sigma Unknown Step Team.
In unbuttoned shirts, the steppers proceeded to bend down and lick whipped cream off of chairs placed on the stage.
After nearly four hours of stunts, skits and humorous references to other fraternities and sororities that drew cheers from the crowd, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi were announced as the winners.
Zeta Phi Beta and Phi Beta Sigma took second place in their respective categories.
The first Susan Peterson-Pace Award, in honor of the recently deceased office coordinator for the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, was awarded to Kappa Alpha Psi, the step team with the highest total points.
Other groups that performed that night included Footworkaz and African Rhythms.
"I am ecstatic, to say the least," Kappa Graduate Adviser Jermel McWilliams said. "We put in hours and hours of hard work on top of all the daily chapter activities."
"We were up [practicing until] 2 o'clock in the morning, and then we'd get up to do community service the next day," said McWilliams, a recent graduate of Drexel University. "It was overwhelming to win two awards. ... It shows that our work was not in vain."
The quality of the performances was acknowledged to be a major draw of the evening.
"Being part of the national tour really puts us at the forefront," Moses said.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
