Alphas, Deltas secure first-place step show victories using “old school, olympian themes”

The Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and the Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, claimed first place victories at the 2008 Homecoming Greek Step Show

Held on Saturday at the Leon County Civic Center, the event drew a crowd of more than 4,000 patrons at the occasion. According to the judges’ rubric sheets, key factors that added to the victory of both first place winners were audience participation and precision.

To secure their victory, the Alphas appeased patrons by going back to the early 1990’s, jumping on stage to a hip-hop tune by Criss Cross while wearing overalls and bright t-shirts.

The fraternity initially thought the old-school theme could be successful due to a variety of factors. “The judges could really relate to the ‘New Jack’ era, it’s appealing to our generation as well -since we used to grow up watching shows like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” said Brandon Mitchell, step master for the Alphas.

Mitchell, 23, Kansas City, added that he and his fraternity brothers would be motivated to do it because they always have fun with a similar theme at their annual retro event called “The Juke Joint.”

The Beta Nu Chapter also showed viewers a reenactment of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in video that spawned laughter throughout the audience as the main character stepped on “The Hill” as king of the yard.

Incorporating popular old-school hip hop era songs and moves into their routine, the Alphas reminded the audience that fraternities and sororities are about uplifting the black community and are founded on principles such as and scholarship, community service, brotherhood and sisterhood.

Delta Sigma Theta, also victorious, raced to the stage in an Olympian theme executing several flips with precision. Known as “Team DST,” gymnasts, track stars and soccer players flooded the stage showing champion-like prowess.

To assess each team’s performance, judges used a rubric with categories of precision, difficulty, sportsmanship, creativity, originality, audience participation, entrance and exit and the overall performance.

Before the winners were announced, Mitchell remained humble about the competition and his fraternity’s standing. “I didn’t count anybody out. I made that mistake last year as a neophyte and we ended up losing,” he said

The Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, focused on a military theme while the Alpha Eta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, integrated motifs from the horror movie “Saw” into their performance. Both organizations took home second place awards for their effort.

Although Phi Beta Sigma was unable to reclaim the first place victory, they are prepared and confident that they’ll do better in the future. “We have to come a lot harder next year and be out the box. Bring something different to the crowd,” said Larry Smith, 23, who was the step master for the Alpha Eta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma.