Aaron Johnson – General Assignment Reporter
Southern Connecticut State University hosted the 8th Annual ‘Show Out’ Step Show Competition this past Sunday evening. Groups from all over the tri-state area came to perform for a packed John Lyman Center. “I had a great time,” said Romaine Daley, a resident of Bridgeport. “I’m truthfully only up here to spend time with my boys from high school and they were telling me about this show so I came out.”
The competition has two different categories. A group of step teams from various universities including UConn, University of New Haven, and University of Albany. The Greek portion was the other group of steppers. “The Greek steppers are always the most fun I think,” said Southern student Kaitlyn Romano. “When the Sigmas came out I just loved it.”
Other Greek organizations that participated in the show were, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Zeta Phi Beta. The brothers of Omega Psi Phi briefly stole the show when the potential new members of the
fraternity were brought out on the stage, masks covering their faces. The crowd cheered and barked as the Omega Psi Phi members left the stage with the candidates after uttering a single statement “See you Wednesday.”
“At first I didn’t know what was going on,” Daley said. “Then all of a sudden everybody around me started going crazy. Then people started barking. It was a little crazy, but my boy explained it to me afterward so it was pretty cool once I knew what exactly was going on.”
The steppers from the UNH Elite step team of the University of New Haven won the college portion with a twisted “Toy Story” themed routine. While Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority took home the trophy for the Greek portion with 300 and Dojo themed routines, respectively. However, the main attraction to the show was Southern’s own Steppin’ Up Drill Team. “This is my second straight year coming to this show and every time Steppin’ Up is just so good,” said Da’Liza Rodriguez.
Rodriguez and her roommates showed their love and support for senior Steppin’ Up member Shayla Rountree by making a giant sign with her name and holding it up proudly during the show.
“She’s our RA back at Schwartz,” Rodriguez said. “And we knew this was going to be her last show so we put this sign together for her and had a few other people from our floor sign it. Just our way of showing her how much we really think she’s the best RA on campus.”
Steppin’ Up’s Scandal-themed routine had the entire audience both captivated and amazed as onlookers cheered, clapped, and even rose to their feet during the routine that was complete with a video story line in between steps. “It was pretty chill,” Daley said. “I honestly came here not really knowing what to expect but I was definitely pleasantly surprised with the show.”
A most heartfelt moment of the show was when current and past members of Steppin’ Up and Phi
Beta Sigma Fraternity performed a tribute step in the memory of Steppin’ Up’s late founder Ricky L. Blakes. The step was the first step that Blake and his line brothers had learned after being accepted into the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.“It was so nice,” Romano said. “I didn’t know too much about the history behind Steppin’ Up so to see them do such a beautiful tribute, it was so special.”
The tribute was complete after members of the winning Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity step team gave the trophy to Blake’s mother who was in attendance at the show. “Yeah I thought I was going to cry when they gave the trophy to his mom,” Romano said with a small smile. “It was just the prefect ending to a really great show.”
