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!