During homecoming week at Florida A&M University, the NPHC Homecoming Greek Step performance was presented on Oct. 28 in the Al Lawson Center.
“A Nightmare on FAMU Way” was the theme. The event drew a large number of students, staff and alumni, as planned. The champions of this year’s step show surprised everyone but the winning team was well-deserved.
The victors of this year’s NPHC Homecoming Greek Step Show were the Original Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the “HARD” Alpha Eta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. The AKAs demonstrated their abilities by adhering to the “Squid Games” concept.
For this year’s step show, the Sigma’s chose Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” theme.
For the past 13 years, the Real Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority has been the Greek Step Show winners. Followed by the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which has won for the past four years.
Janelle Cotton, a third-year accounting student, is pleased to have been a member of this year’s winning step team. Cotton and her colleagues worked hard in practice, she said, pushing themselves to the limit. They came up with the “Squid Games” idea as a group and solicited feedback from their step masters as well.
“I was very surprised when we won,” Cotton said. “We faced a lot of adversity by being a step team in general, so I was very grateful.”
This year’s Greek step show winners included Chandrahasa Srinivasa, a fourth-year health-care management major, a member of Phi Beta Sigma. The Sigmas always wanted to do something Michael Jackson-related, so when they discovered the concept of the step show, they felt “Thriller” was the greatest option.
Practice for the step show, according to Srinivasa, began in late July or early August. The rationale for starting practice so early was to avoid overworking themselves as the step show approached. It was difficult to get the motions down with 11 other people, but the product was well worth it, he said.
“I was shocked when we won but we went in there pretty confident,” Srinivasa said. “But, winning was a shock because all of the work paid off and it felt really good to see all of our work appreciated.”
Alyssa Brown, a fourth-year pre-vet major, enjoyed her last step show experience as an undergrad.
“The step show was a great experience for me,” said Brown. “I loved seeing everyone on stage. The props and stunts were amazing.”
Overall, the Greek step performance is an unforgettable event that everyone should experience. The concept for this year’s step performance, “A Nightmare on FAMU Way,” was really nicely performed by all of the step teams that participated, and it linked in well with Halloween.