At most colleges and universities with Greek life, there are dance competitions. At UCF there are three: Kappa Delta Shakedown, Zeta Tau Alpha Lip Sync, and Beta Theta Pi’s Best Dance Crew. These are huge events
where all the fraternities and sororities come out to perform or just watch.
Some of the dances are funny and clever, while others are complex and sexy. Regardless
of the dance, I like to think that it is all about the audience. Being a crowd
pleaser was one of the best aspect of Theta Chi's dance at KD
Shakedown and I loved being a part of that.
From mediocre to real dancers
Coming up with moves that the audience may like or find amusing was a lot harder than I originally thought. This year I volunteered to choreograph
our fraternity’s routine. You can image some of the challenges I faced -- like
brothers thinking they can’t dance or being afraid of looking stupid. However, this year was the best that Theta Chi has ever done.
Making a show to remember
The routine was a bit more challenging than previous years,
but we were all having fun. We had multiple aspects in our routine like popular
music, dance choreography, creativity, dance moves for crowd reaction, and
costumes. As the day got closer, the more we got hyped up. We didn’t
only want to dance just to keep up with appearances, we wanted to
put on a good show for the crowd.
Getting pumped
On the day of the event, some of the guys were nervous. They
were going through the routine in their heads, in the courtyard of our house,
or wherever they had space. We were getting in the zone! As for me, I went home
to relax and chill before I came back on campus to perform. I felt confident in
my boys and I was focused on having a good time on stage.
Comin' in hot
After a few run throughs, we all got dressed up, looking fresh
in our red bow ties and suspenders. We took a few group pictures before we made
our appearance at The Venue. One of brothers had a big red truck, and we all piled into the bed; on the drive over, people
were staring at us. I can only imagine what they were thinking seeing a bunch
of shirtless suspender-clad men in the back of a truck, but as we hopped out, all eyes were on us.
As we were walking up to the crowd, Ally Whitaker, a sister of Delta Delta Delta, took a
Snapchat of us with the caption “Theta Chi comin' in HOT!” Once we were inside
waiting for the event to begin, we talked with people we knew from
different sororities and fraternities, taking photos and wishing each other good
luck.
Showtime
We were the lucky ones that got to go first after the host -- Kappa
Delta -- put on their routine, because two of our dancers had to leave right after to be sworn
in as SGA Senators. Generally, people do not like going first,
but we were excited to start off the night right! From the beginning to the end, we
killed it on the stage. The choreography, stripping, booty shaking, twerking,
and our famous crowd cheering, “cry baby,” won over the crowd. Even though we did
not place, the admiration and respect we received from everyone who watched us perform was enough of a reward for putting on the best show Theta
Chi has ever done. Even so, it wasn't all about that, but about our brothers
coming together demonstrating what we do best -- brotherhood!
