The Student Activities Center Auditorium erupted with boisterous stomps and claps Saturday night during the eighth annual step show hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
“I’m proud of the turnout of family and friends and students on campus,” said Richard Ciceron, a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha and senior health informatics major, and one of the many coordinators who helped bring the show together. “We began planning this in March and April, so it’s good to see so many people come out.”
Ciceron said that the money for the tickets, $10 for students and $12 for the public, goes back to the group who hosts the show, Alpha Phi Alpha. The money gets dispersed between their charity; March of Dimes, and Stony Brook for allowing usage of the auditorium and funding in the fraternity.
Of the nine groups that performed, five competed for awards. The night started off with host Rob Santos, Washington Heights comedian, warming up the crowd with his witty jokes, and he was followed by the dance group Ozone, representing the Child’s Center of New York. The next act to come on stage was the first of the competing groups.
The sisters of Zeta Phi Beta entered the stage with a video game themed step routine. Popular theme music including Super Mario World and Mortal Combat were featured. Though only two sisters represented the sorority, by the amount of applause they recieved at the end of their performance, it was easy to see they were a crowd favorite.
Déjà Vu, Stony Brook’s very own dance troupe, preformed next. The women were dressed like dolls, and the men dressed like army soldiers. Though they weren’t one of the competing groups, they received an equally enthusiastic response from the crowd. What set them apart from the other groups was that they danced to music instead of just stepping.
Another competing group took the stage after the dancers. The Phi Beta Sigma fraternity started off their performance with a video clip of the opening credits for the television show House accompanied with video clips of each brother in medicals scrubs. They ended their step show with a popular song, “Palance” by JW and Blaze. That really got the crowd riled up. As the song continued to play, the entire audience screamed and cheered and began dancing around in the aisles. It took about five minutes to get the crowd calmed down and back in their seats.
The next group traveled all the way up from Virginia for the show. The sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha went with a horror theme for their performance. They had neon green lines painted on their limbs to resemble poison. For one specific point in their step routine, all of the lights shut off except for black lights lining the bottom of the stage which illuminated the girls’ arms, legs and dresses.
Another sorority was next on the stage; however, they were not in the competing category. The Delta Sigma Theta girls have been known for winning each year, and they chose not to compete so another sorority could take home first place.
Lastly, the fraternity that put the show together performed. Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity entered the stage dressed like 1920s gangsters as the theme music to The Godfather played. They even brought out a table with cards to get across their theme.
“All the acts, competing or not, were entertaining,” said Bianca Scott, a senior health schience major. “I went last year, and, even though I’m graduating, I’m interested in seeing them again next year.”
It was announced at the end of the night that Zeta Phi Beta placed first in the sorority category, and Phi Beta Sigma, the sorority’s brothers, placed first in the fraternity category. Both winners received not only trophies but also a cash prize of $1,250.
“I really didn’t think we’d win,” said Ndome Essoka, a senior health science major, and one of the two performers from Zeta Phi Beta. She and her sister were the only two in their line on campus who had time to practice.
Second place winners for the sorority category were Alpha Kappa Alpha and for the fraternities Iota Phi Theta. They also received a cash prize of $250. Taking third place for the fraternities was the Alpha Phi Alpha group.
“Tonight was definitely worth the ten dollars,” said Scott. “I liked last year better because there were more groups, but, as for next year, I’ll be there!”
